Mercurius

For centuries these three paintings of life-size nudes, the goddess Minerva, the god Mercury and the hero Hercules, have been an inseparable trio. And yet they were not all painted in the same year. Goltzius painted the Minerva and Mercury in 1611; the Hercules and Cacus followed in 1613, and may well have been commissioned by the Haarlem lawyer and town councillor Johan Colterman (c. 1565-1616), who probably had his 22-year-old son Johan Colterman Junior model for the young, powerful figure of Hercules. This painting is not quite the same size as the two earlier works and its original frame was also slightly different. The earliest mention of the paintings hanging together dates from 1671, when they belonged to the daughter and son-in-law of Colterman Junior. The three paintings together exemplify the humanist educational ideal. Theory (Mercury) and practice (Minerva) lead to skill and virtue. Virtue is personified in Hercules, who defeats the evil giant Cacus.

Mercury
The mythological figure of Mercury was patron of the arts and god of rhetoric. He is identified by his winged helmet, the snake-entwined caduceus and a cockerel. In this version, his caduceus looks very like a maulstick. At Mercury’s feet lie drawing attributes, a set square, compasses, a drawing and an album of drawing patterns. Behind him stands a girl sticking her tongue out and holding a rattle and a magpie. In this painting, too, wisdom and stupidity are united: the girl symbolizes foolish prattle.