Mercury, plate 42 from Planets and Spheres

c. 1465

Master of the E-Series Tarocchi
Italian, active c. 1465

Mercury is part of a 50-card set known as the Tarocchi, which were not tarot cards but which probably served a didactic purpose as a memory game. The unknown artist worked in a strongly linear, dry style with a touch of the grotesque. These engravings emphasize the gods’ mythology over their astrological significance. The prints present curious details, such as Mercury standing over the severed head of Argus and its hundred eyes.

Status: On View, Gallery 204
Department: Prints and Drawings

Artist: Master of the E-Series Tarocchi
Title: Mercury, plate 42 from Planets and Spheres
Place: Italy (Artist's nationality:)
Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.: 1460–1470
Medium: Engraving on paper
Dimensions: Plate: 17.9 × 10 cm (7 1/16 × 3 15/16 in.); Sheet: 18.5 × 10.6 cm (7 5/16 × 4 3/16 in.)
Credit Line: Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Potter Palmer, Jr.
Reference Number: 1924.39.20
IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.: https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/122264/manifest.json

Bartsch XIII.137.59

Hind E.I.42a

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Date Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world. Learn more.

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IIIF Manifest The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.