A LIFE-SIZE ITALIAN MARBLE FIGURE OF MERCURY

Based on a model by the famed neo-classical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (d. 1844), the present work depicts the messenger god Mercury in the seconds before he slays Argus. At the behest of Jupiter, Mercury was sent to kill Argus who, at Juno's command, was watching over Jupiter's former lover, Io. Mercury lulled Argus to sleep by playing his flute and then sprung to action, decapitating the many-eyed beast with his sword. The original marble version is located in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen and demonstrates many of the qualities - an elegant form, marked antique influences and virtuosic carving - for which the Danish sculptor's oeuvre was so well known.