Neptune and Amphitrite with the Tritons, Mercury Flying in the Sky

Except for several years in Paris and Amsterdam, Bloemaert spent his long, productive life in Utrecht. His early training attests to the influence of many of his contemporaries. Shortly afterwards, however, he formed a distinctive style of his own, based on a perfect harmony between the Mannerist, ornamental lines of his compositions and details drawn from nature. The drawing Neptune and Amphitrite with Tritons; Mercury Approaching in the Sky, belongs with a series of scenes depicting gods and goddesses, now preserved in various collections. The figures of the sea deities are arranged in a fairly compact formation in the centre of the body of water. The small figure of Mercury, flying in the clouds, is an allusion to his prank (he stole Neptune’s trident). Bloemaert’s stylistically related drawings from 1620–1625 provide assistance in dating this work.