Explore the Esthetic and reception about the Analysis of this artwork.
The contrasts and the movements are highlighted by a low angle shot point of view of the scene. There is no supernatural aspect and the painting is clearly influenced by realism, as if the scene could happen in real life. There is a precision in the traits of the human characters, precision that can be found once again in paintings of Caravaggio. There is a true study of anatomy, shown in Argus' shrivelled up skin. Mercury's muscles are prominent. This precision reinforces the baroque style of the artwork.
The 16th-century Flemish painter and art theorist Karel van Mander gave an example of interpretation of Ovid's myth; more than a conflict between two generations, there is a lesson of morality. Argus is charmed by Mercury who represents lust and desire, and finally dies by his hand. This shows how lust weakens man’s ability to reason and undermines his sense of duty. Jordaens likes to give an echo to morals in his paintings, even in those with prosaic subject-matters. Mercury and Argus is a representation of the myth, but also renews it with a very baroque style influenced by realism that re-establishes the myth in reality and popularises it.
Argus Karel van Mander Ovid Caravaggio Mercury Jordaens