Mercur și Argus
Carl Johann, zis Carlotto, zis Carlo Lotti Loth
1650
unspecified
From the collection of Brukenthal National Museum
Carl Johann, zis Carlotto, zis Carlo Lotti Loth
1650
unspecified
From the collection of Brukenthal National Museum
Mercur și Argus is a 1650 unspecified by Carl Johann, zis Carlotto, zis Carlo Lotti Loth, a Barbizon school work, held at Brukenthal National Museum.
This painting shows Mercury pointing at Argus while Argus sleeps. Mercury’s rod touches Argus’s eyes, turning them into peacock feathers. The bodies glow under a soft light. The peacock feathers come from a myth where Hera turns Argus’s eyes into them after his death. That’s why Argus’s head looks spooky yet beautiful. Look at the way the light plays on the skin—that’s called chiaroscuro. It’s a trick where dark and light make shapes pop. Loth, Carl Johann, zis Carlotto, zis Carlo Lotti
Carl Johann Loth painted biblical scenes like *Mercur și Argus* and *Lot și fiilele sale* in the late 1600s, when big dramatic stories from the Bible were popular.
See the richer artist page
