Mercury and Herse

1613

Pen and brown ink, coloured wash, heightened with white, red chalk

239 × 168 mm

Delhaes collection

The drawing represents the story of Mercury and Herse. In the Metamorphoses II (708–36), Ovid tells how Mercury, flying over Attica, notices one of the three daughters of the mythical king of Athens, while the girls are bringing offerings to the Temple of Minerva. In contrast to standard iconographic designs, the daughters in Gundelach’s drawing do not carry baskets of offerings. One of the two female figures in the foreground is Herse, and the other, seen from behind, is her sister Aglaurus. She is jealously trying to prevent Mercury from approaching Herse.