Artwork
Merkur, Herse und Aglauros
Merkur, Herse und Aglauros is an unspecified painting by the Mannerist artist Paolo Veronese. It dates from 1558 and is held in the collection of the Bavarian State Painting Collections.
About this work
Overview
Created in 1558, *Merkur, Herse und Aglauros* is a mythological canvas by Paolo Veronese, an early work that predates his rise as a foremost Venetian colourist. Executed in the Mannerist idiom, the painting now belongs to the collection of Munich’s Alte Pinakothek, where it is displayed among other 16th‑century Italian masterpieces.
Subject & Meaning
The composition depicts a richly dressed woman seated on a chair, clutching a small object, while a muscular, armored figure leans against an elaborately ornamented wall, sword in hand. The title identifies the characters as Mercury, Herse and Aglauros, figures from Roman myth, suggesting a narrative moment that intertwines themes of desire, protection and divine intervention.
Technique & Style
The woman’s high‑collared garment and flowing sleeves are rendered with meticulous attention to texture, and the male’s armor displays intricate patterning.
Veronese employs a pronounced chiaroscuro, allowing the illuminated forms of the figures to emerge from a darker, paneled interior. The woman’s high‑collared garment and flowing sleeves are rendered with meticulous attention to texture, and the male’s armor displays intricate patterning. The overall composition reflects Mannerist elongation and elegant artificiality, while the colour palette hints at the artist’s later Venetian brilliance.
History & Provenance
Born Paolo Caliari in 1528, Veronese was a central figure of the Venetian Renaissance, often grouped with Titian and Tintoretto as the trio that defined 16th‑century Venetian painting. This early canvas, produced before his major commissions, entered the Alte Pinakothek’s holdings in the 19th century, where it has remained a representative example of his formative period.
Artist & collection
Artist
Paolo Caliari (1528 – 19 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( VERR-ə-NAY-zay, -zee, US also -see; Italian: ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of…
Hermes, Herse and Aglauros
Birth of Maria de Medici (study)
Fortitudo und Prudentia
Danae
Bacchus og Ariadne sidder sammen i et landskab omgivne af amoriner, bacchantinder og satyrer
Bacchus og Ariadne sidder sammen i et landskab omgivne af amoriner, bacchantinder og satyrer
Minerva von Hymen Begleitet
Judith und Holofernes
Justitia und Pax
Venus Honored by the Nymphs
Susannah Suprised by the Elders
Simson und Delila