Mercury Puts Argus to Sleep

Argus falls asleep next to a tree to the music that Mercurius makes with his shepherd's flute. While playing the flute, Mercurius reaches for his sword to kill Argus. In this way Io, the beloved of Jupiter changed into a white cow, could be freed. Behind the tree the white cow (Io) looks on, on the left sits a dog. The print is part of a four-part series of prints with scenes from the mythological story of Argus.