The Young Mercury Stealing Cattle from the Herd of Apollo 1530 - 1550

Girolamo da Santacroce likely created this panel painting of 'The Young Mercury Stealing Cattle from the Herd of Apollo' with oil paint on wood. Paintings like this depended on a complex division of labor. Raw materials, like pigments, had to be mined and processed. Animal hairs had to be turned into paintbrushes. Wood had to be cut, joined and prepared as a surface. Then, the artist took over, applying their skills and learning to the canvas. Looking closely, we can see the artist’s meticulous approach. Each layer of paint was carefully built up, and its texture has a matte quality. These materials were costly, so paintings were luxury objects affordable only to the wealthy, functioning as a status symbol. It reminds us that even seemingly straightforward artworks are the result of a whole system of labor and consumption. The painting gives us insight into both artistic creativity and its wider social and economic context.