Old Master Painting, Circle of Hendrick de Somer (1607-1656) - Mercury Puts Argus to Sleep by Playing the Flute

This painting is an oil on canvas from the first half of the 17th century, of excellent quality, measuring 160cm x 160cm unframed. It measures 164cm x 164cm with the frame. The frame is a modern, gilded strip. The work is of legitimate provenance. On the back, it bears what appears to be the initials "dS," which can be interpreted as "de Somer."

The work we are presenting today shares many features with "Mercury Putting Argus to Sleep by Playing the Flute" by Hendrick van Somer (or de Somer). Indeed, Mercury's face shares the same features as the Mercury attributed to Somer, and the composition of the painting in question echoes that of "Lot and his Daughters," dated between 1640 and 1650. One detail from the latter painting is also present in our work: the exquisite jug at the bottom right.
The sleeping dog at the bottom right is very similar in the two paintings that have the same subject (see images attached in the description).

This painting is obviously not a copy, but there is much evidence to support de Somer's authorship.

De Somer is a very important painter in the history of Neapolitan art and his paintings are preserved in churches of the city, as well as in the National Museum of Capodimonte, and in the National Gallery of Ancient Art of Palazzo Barberini in Rome.

Hendrick van Somer is generally identified with Enrico Fiammingo, mentioned in Bernardo De Dominici's Lives of the Neapolitan Painters, Sculptors, and Architects (1742-1743) among the pupils of Jusepe de Ribera.

According to the marriage records of Viviano Codazzi, which Van Somer witnessed, in 1636 (the date of these documents) the painter was twenty-nine years old and had been living in Naples for twelve years. This allows us to identify the altarpiece, depicting the Baptism of Christ, painted for the Neapolitan church of Santa Maria della Sapienza, which dates back to 1641. It is currently Van Somer's only work for which documentation relating to the commission of the painting remains, making its date and ownership incontrovertible.


While the Neapolitan church altarpiece still clearly reflects Ribera, in later works Van Somer's painting was further enriched by influences from other Neapolitan masters emerging in those years, such as Massimo Stanzione and Bernardo Cavallino. Hendrick's palette softens Ribera's tenebrism and opens to the neo-Venetian color that during that period (as was also happening in Rome) tended to replace the stark chiaroscuro of Caravaggio.

Works such as Lot and his Daughters - in several versions, works that are intimately linked, even on a compositional level, to examples by Stanzione - and Samson and Delilah are examples of this evolution.

Among the latest possible additions to Van Somer's catalogue is a notable painting depicting Mercury lulling Argus to sleep to the sound of the flute, a work formerly attributed to Pier Francesco Mola, but recently proposed as a product of his brush. the year of his birth (1607) and to place his arrival in the capital of the Viceroyalty in 1624.

The event depicted in mythology is as follows: Mercury (Hermes in Greek mythology) puts Argus, a hundred-eyed giant, to sleep on the orders of Jupiter (Zeus) to free Io, who had been transformed into a heifer and guarded by Argus at the behest of Juno (Hera). Mercury, after putting Argus to sleep, defeats him and frees Io.

The work is in excellent condition with some minor blemishes on the back. The canvas is well stretched on the stretcher and has been reinforced with strip lining, which involves tensioning the edges by applying a new canvas over them. The work requires no restoration and has been cleaned.

The work will be carefully packaged.
We can only ship within Italy, given the high value of the work. For shipments abroad, please allow approximately 30-40 days for authorization from the ministry. Alternatively, foreign buyers can collect the item and complete the necessary paperwork in person, using their own vehicles, or through companies that provide this service, such as the Italian offices of Mail Boxes.