{"product_id":"venus-and-mercury-jan-harmensz-muller","title":"Venus and Mercury - Jan Harmensz. Muller","description":"\u003cp\u003eA masterful Northern Mannerist engraving by Jan Harmensz. Muller, depicting the mythological figures of Venus and Mercury in a complex, serpentine composition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis engraving by Jan Harmensz. Muller, after a design by Bartholomaeus Spranger, captures the stylistic excesses of Northern Mannerism. The composition features Venus and Mercury in an intimate embrace, surrounded by putti and symbolic animals. Muller, a master of the burin, employs a sophisticated system of hatching and cross-hatching to model the muscular, elongated forms of the figures, creating a sense of volume that pushes against the two-dimensional constraints of the paper.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe work is characteristic of the Haarlem Academy, where artists favoured complex, serpentine poses and highly artificial arrangements. Mercury, identifiable by his winged petasos and caduceus, is depicted in a relaxed, seated position, while Venus stands beside him, her body twisted in a classic contrapposto. The presence of the putti, one holding a bow and the other assisting with the drapery, adds a playful, theatrical quality to the scene. Below the figures, an eagle and a smaller bird rest on the ground, grounding the mythological narrative in a symbolic setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMuller’s technical precision is evident in the rendering of the fabric and the subtle gradations of light across the skin of the figures. The engraving is framed by a Latin inscription at the base, which provides a moralising or descriptive context common to prints of this period. This piece demonstrates the collaborative nature of printmaking in the late sixteenth century, where the invention of a painter like Spranger was translated into the medium of engraving by a specialist like Muller. The result is a work that prioritises stylistic virtuosity and intellectual artifice, reflecting the tastes of the courtly circles for whom such prints were produced.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"margin-top:2rem;padding-top:1.5rem;border-top:1px solid #e5e5e5;\"\u003e\n\u003cp style=\"font-size:0.85rem;color:#888;font-weight:600;margin:0 0 0.75rem;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:0.05em;\"\u003eYou might also like\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv style=\"display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:0.5rem;\"\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/en-nz\/products\/bear-hunt-with-lobster-quail-weasel-and-fish-adriaen-collaert\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f8f9fa;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;border-radius:20px;padding:0.35rem 0.85rem;font-size:0.8rem;color:#2a555a;font-weight:500;text-decoration:none !important;background-image:none !important;\"\u003eBear Hunt, with Lobster, Quail, Weasel, and Fish - Adriaen Collaert — Adriaen Collaert\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/en-nz\/products\/hieronymus-scottus-placentinus-dominicus-custos\" style=\"display:inline-block;background:#f8f9fa;border:1px solid #e5e5e5;border-radius:20px;padding:0.35rem 0.85rem;font-size:0.8rem;color:#2a555a;font-weight:500;text-decoration:none !important;background-image:none !important;\"\u003eHieronymus Scottus Placentinus - Dominicus Custos — Dominicus Custos\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Jan Harmensz. Muller","offers":[{"title":"Fine Art Framed \/ A4 (21x29.7 cm) \/ Black frame","offer_id":58464954188111,"sku":null,"price":220.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Framed \/ A4 (21x29.7 cm) \/ Dark wood frame","offer_id":58464954253647,"sku":null,"price":220.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Framed \/ A3 (29.7 x 42  cm) \/ Dark wood frame","offer_id":58464954351951,"sku":null,"price":290.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Framed \/ A2 (42 x 59.4  cm) \/ Black frame","offer_id":58464954384719,"sku":null,"price":450.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Framed \/ A2 (42 x 59.4  cm) \/ Dark wood frame","offer_id":58464954450255,"sku":null,"price":450.0,"currency_code":"NZD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/9292\/1935\/files\/Venus-and-Mercury_Poster_CompositorV1_1786284663521.jpg?v=1786594506","url":"https:\/\/www.solisprints.com\/en-nz\/products\/venus-and-mercury-jan-harmensz-muller","provider":"Solis Prints","version":"1.0","type":"link"}