Mercury - Bertel Thorvaldsen - Large Bronze - Italy, 19th Century

"Mercury About to Kill Argos," after Bertel Thorvaldsen, is a Neoclassical sculpture depicting the god Hermes (Mercury to the Romans) at the moment before the slaying of the giant Argos Panoptes. The scene comes from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where Zeus sends Hermes to rescue Io, who is being held captive by the hundred-eyed Argos. The god is shown nude, wearing a winged helmet and holding the panpipe with which he has lulled his adversary to sleep. His reclining posture and the leg resting on a tree trunk suggest the moment of tension preceding the action.

Created in the early 19th century, while Thorvaldsen was working in Rome, the work perfectly illustrates Neoclassical aesthetics through its idealization of the body and dramatic restraint. The Danish sculptor (1770–1844), trained in Copenhagen, was one of the great exponents of European Neoclassicism, often compared to Antonio Canova.

A major version of this sculpture is now in the Thorvaldsen Museum. It remains one of the most famous examples of mythological sculpture of the period.

Bronze with a dark brown patina.
Lost-wax cast by Michel Amodio, a foundryman in Naples, active between 1850 and 1880.
Inscriptions "Mercury," "by Thorvaldsen," and "M. Amadio Napoli" on the base.

Height: 80 cm
weight: 23,5 kg