Young Mercury Stealing Cattle from the Herd of Apollo

attributed to Girolamo da Santacroce (c. 1480-1556), oil on canvas, c. 1530-1550

Having been banished from Olympus, Apollo now toils as a cowherd. Engrossed in playing the flute, he is unaware that his half-brother Mercury is busy pilfering his cattle. The little thief has wings on his feet. The lyre, a stringed instrument, hanging from a tree trunk is believed to have been invented by Mercury and served as a medium of exchange for the stolen cattle.

Artwork typepainting
Object numberSK-A-3966
Dimensionsdepth 6.5 cm, height 107 cm x width 103 cm

Young Mercury Stealing Cattle from the Herd of Apollo

Identification

Object type
Object number
SK-A-3966

Creation

Creation
painter: attributed to Girolamo da Santacroce (ca.1480-1556)
Dating
1530 - 1550
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Material and technique

Material
Dimensions
- depth 6.5 cm
- height 107 cm x width 103 cm

This work is about

Subject

Acquisition and rights

Copyright
Public domain
Provenance
…; purchased from the dealer Luigi Grassi, Florence, by Prof. Dr Otto Lanz (1865-1935), Amsterdam, 1919;{Note RMA; Amsterdam 1934, no. 63.} his widow, Anna Theresia Elisabeth Lanz - Willi (1870 - 1954), Amsterdam, 1935; from whom, CHF 2,000,000 and fl. 350,000, with xx other paintings, to Hans Posse (1879-1942), for Adolf Hitler´s Führermuseum, Linz, through the mediation of the dealer N. Katz, 1941;{Van Os 1978, p. 167.} war recuperation, SNK, 29 March 1946 (inv. no. NK 2318);{Provenance from 1934 to 1945 reconstructed by Ekkart et al. 2006; MCCP website, file card no. 9808.} on loan from the SNK to the museum, 1948 (inv. no. SK-C-1379); transferred to the museum, 1960
Remarks
Please note that this provenance was formulated with a special focus on provenance research for the years 1933-45 and could therefore be incomplete. There may be more (mostly earlier) provenance information known in the museum. In case this item has an uncertain or incomplete provenance for the years 1933-45, the Rijksmuseum welcomes information and assistance in the investigation and clarification of the provenance of all works during that era.

Documentation

Persistent URL

To refer to this object, please use the following persistent URL:
https://id.rijksmuseum.nl/20027935