1558
ink
paper
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
Mercury with the Head of Argus in His Hand is a 1558 ink by Hieronymus Cock, a Renaissance work, held at National Gallery of Art.
This black-and-white print shows a busy scene with two main figures. On the right, a winged man holds a severed head. On the left, a tree stands near a riverbank where people fish and tend to animals. In the background, a town with towers and spires sits on a hillside, surrounded by winding roads and scattered houses. The winged man is Mercury, the Roman messenger god, carrying the head of Argus—a giant with many eyes—after slaying him. The tiny details in the town and landscape show how much work went into this small print. Want to see more? Check out etching to learn how artists like Cock made prints like this.
Hieronymus Cock, or Hieronymus Wellens de Cock, (1518 – 3 October 1570) was a Flemish painter and etcher as well as a publisher and distributor of prints.
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