Landscape with Mercury and the Dishonest Woodman

Artist: Salvator Rosa
Artwork: Landscape with Mercury and the Dishonest Woodman
Description: This painting depicts the story of the dishonest woodman from Aesop’s Fables. In the story, a woodman is chopping down a tree when the tree falls on his axe and breaks it. The woodman then prays to Mercury, the god of trade and travel, to help him find his axe. Mercury agrees to help the woodman, but only if the woodman will give him half of whatever he finds. The woodman agrees, and Mercury leads him to a spot where the woodman finds his axe as well as a large sum of money. The woodman is overjoyed and gives Mercury half of the money. However, the woodman is dishonest and decides to keep the rest of the money for himself. Mercury is angered by the woodman’s dishonesty and turns him into a tree.
Url: https://anartworkaday.zhouqingen.com/reference/master/Museum/British Museum/SalvatorRosaLandscapewithMercuryandtheDishonestWoodman.avif