Jupiter and Mercury at the House of Philemon and Baucis
Artist/Maker
Hendrick Goudt
(Dutch, 1573–1648)
afterafter
Adam Elsheimer
(German, 1578–1610)
Date1612
MediumEngraving
DimensionsImage: 6 7/16 × 8 9/16 in. (16.4 × 21.7 cm)
Sheet: 8 9/16 × 8 13/16 in. (21.8 × 22.4 cm)
Sheet: 8 9/16 × 8 13/16 in. (21.8 × 22.4 cm)
Credit LineGift of Leona E. Prasse in honor of Hazel B. King
Object number1954.71
Status
Not on viewThis print illustrates the Greco-Roman myth of the gods Jupiter and Mercury disguising themselves as ordinary peasants in need of hospitality. All, except the poor couple Baucis and Philemon, whose generosity surpassed that of their rich neighbors, rejected them. This engraving shows the moment when Baucis realizes that their guests are gods, a revelation that is conveyed in the artful placement of the room’s single source of light next to the supernatural beings.
From 1608–10, Goudt was in Rome, where he met the German painter Adam Elsheimer, whose paintings of nocturnal scenes on copper were innovative and rare. Goudt’s engravings after Elsheimer’s works, such as this one, popularized his work, making him highly influential for subsequent generations of artists.
Exhibition History
The Century of Shakespeare
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (April 10, 1964 - April 30, 1964 )
Italy Through Dutch Eyes: Dutch Seventeenth Century Landscape Artists in Italy
- University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI (April 22, 1964 - May 24, 1964 )
Between Fact and Fantasy: The Artistic Imagination in Print
- Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (January 17, 2014 - June 22, 2014 )
Collections
- European
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mid-17th century
1676–99
after 1631