In Landscape with Apollo Guarding the Herds of Admetus and Mercury stealing them of 1645, French Baroque painter Claude Lorrain depicts the Greek god Apollo in his guise as the god of music and herds being deceived by Mercury the messenger of the gods in his own guise as the god of thieves and trickery.
Mercury, who is identifiable by his winged shoes, caduceus, or staff and his winged cap, leads the herd of Admetus away while Apollo is depicted in a mood of inspired possession as he plays music with his eyes raised heavenward.
All the action is depicted by Lorrain in the foreground while in the distance and above the head of Apollo, our eye is led beyond a bridge into a typical display of Lorrain’s expert observations of sunlight and atmospheric perspective.
Claude Lorrain’s Landscape with Apollo Guarding the Herds of Admetus and Mercury stealing them is in the Doria Pamphilj Gallery in Rome, Italy.