Mercury with the Head of Argus 

Etienne Delaune created this engraving of Mercury with the Head of Argus sometime in the 16th century. The image depicts Mercury, messenger of the gods, after he has slain Argus, a giant with a hundred eyes. Delaune was French, and the French court under Francis I embraced Italian Renaissance art and humanist ideals, as seen here through the classical subject matter. However, this print also reflects the distinct style of the School of Fontainebleau, known for its ornamental and decorative qualities and its sophisticated, often erotic, figural style. The frame itself is highly ornamented and features grotesque masks, vases and birds. The print would have been part of a larger project. Many prints from this period were made for books or as individual decorations, so images like this could circulate widely. Studying prints like this requires attention to the conditions in which the artist worked and the audience that would have viewed it. We can learn more through accessing period books on mythology, design pattern books, and artist biographies. The meaning of art lies as much in its cultural context as in the image itself.