J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours

ISBN 978-1-84976-386-8
J.M.W. Turner > 1802-18 Academician and professor > Nude Studies and Erotica c.1805-24 > Academy Auditing Sketchbook [Finberg ... > Artwork

Joseph Mallord William Turner Mercury and Argus c.1810

Joseph Mallord William Turner, ‘Mercury and Argus’ c.1810
Joseph Mallord William Turner 1775–1851
Folio 8 Recto:
Mercury and Argus circa 1810
D18487
Turner Bequest CCX a 6
Pencil on white laid writing paper, 115 x 187 mm
Part watermark: crowned fleur-de-lys
Inscribed by Turner in pencil ‘M Argus’ top centre
Inscribed by John Ruskin in red ink ‘6’ bottom right (now very faint)
Stamped in black ‘CCX(a) – 6’ bottom right
 
Accepted by the nation as part of the Turner Bequest 1856
As discussed in the introduction, most of the drawings in this book are rapid figure studies, many of which are explicitly erotic; others may be similar in intent, but are difficult to make out, and may be of classical or biblical subjects. Here Turner’s inscription indicates the Roman god Mercury, identifiable by his winged helmet, and the hundred-eyed cowherd Argus whom he kills at Jupiter’s command, having first charmed him with the pipes which are possibly indicated at Mercury’s shoulder. The story is told by the Roman poet Ovid.1
Turner exhibited a painting of Mercury and Argus in 1836 (National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa),2 showing them as inconspicuous figures in different poses in an idyllic landscape.
1
Metamorphoses, I.
2
Martin Butlin and Evelyn Joll, The Paintings of J.M.W. Turner, revised ed., New Haven and London 1984, pp.217–19 no.367, pl.372 (colour).
Verso:
Blank

Matthew Imms
January 2012

How to cite

Matthew Imms, ‘Mercury and Argus c.1810 by Joseph Mallord William Turner’, catalogue entry, January 2012, in David Blayney Brown (ed.), J.M.W. Turner: Sketchbooks, Drawings and Watercolours, Tate Research Publication, February 2017, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/research-publications/jmw-turner/joseph-mallord-william-turner-mercury-and-argus-r1184358, accessed 19 April 2024.