Mercury Falling in Love with Herse 1606

Editor: This is Antonio Tempesta's "Mercury Falling in Love with Herse," an etching from the late 16th or early 17th century, located at the Harvard Art Museums. It feels very theatrical. What do you see in this piece? Curator: Theatrics indeed! Look at the dynamic composition—Mercury descending from the clouds, the women arranged almost like a chorus. Consider how this reinforces narratives of power and divine intervention within the context of gender dynamics of the time. What is Herse's agency here? Editor: I hadn't thought about the power dynamics like that. So, the arrangement highlights Mercury's dominance? Curator: Precisely. And how does the artist use classical imagery to perpetuate or perhaps even subtly critique those established hierarchies? Food for thought, don't you think? Editor: Definitely. I see so many layers now. Curator: Exactly. It prompts us to question whose story is truly being told and who benefits from its telling.