Jacob Jordaens (I)
Mercury and Battus
1635 - 1640
old masters
In his book 'Metamorphoses', the Roman poet Ovid tells the story of Battus and Mercury. Battus, an old shepherd, witnessed Mercury stealing Apollo's cattle. Mercury gave Battus a heifer on condition that he tells no one. Mercury returned in disguise and tricked Battus into revealing the location of the cattle by offering him a cow and a bull. Mercury punished Battus by turning him to stone. After the death of Peter Paul Rubens in 1640, Jacob Jordaens was the most important painter of large commissions in Antwerp.
- Wikipedia on Ovid's Metamorphoseshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metamorphoses
