1590. Mercury Enamored of Herse - etching - 17.8 x 25.2 cm - Washington DC, NGA

The messenger god Mercury hovers in the upper right sky, clutching his caduceus as he gazes down at a group of elegantly dressed women. The women carry ritual vessels and platters of offerings through a landscape dotted with classical and northern-style buildings. This scene depicts the moment Mercury falls in love with Herse during a festival for Minerva.

Mercury serves as the primary archetype for Hermes Trismegistus in the Western esoteric tradition, representing the mediator between the divine and earthly realms. This engraving reflects the late 16th-century fascination with allegorical interpretations of classical myth within the intellectual circles of the Haarlem Mannerists.