Minerva and the Young Mercury

The goddess is represented half-length, seated on clouds. She is shown, as usual, in armor, but instead of a helmet, she wears a small crown intertwined with pearls. In her right hand she has one of the thunderbolts of her father, Jupiter, while the other points upwards. At her side is the young Mercury with his caduceus. Usually he is depicted with wings on his sandals, but on this occasion they have been transferred to his shoulders after the manner of Cupid. This painting may have been one of a series of similar canvases depicting mythological figures.