{"product_id":"mercury-and-battus-james-peake","title":"Mercury and Battus - James Peake","description":"\u003cp\u003eA detailed 1767 etching by James Peake after Claude Lorrain, depicting the classical myth of Mercury and Battus within an expansive pastoral setting.\u003c\/p\u003e\n    \u003cp\u003eThis fine etching and engraving by James Peake, published in 1767, reproduces the composition of a painting by the French master Claude Lorrain. The work depicts a scene from Ovid's Metamorphoses, where the god Mercury encounters the shepherd Battus. Mercury, disguised as a traveller, seeks information about his stolen cattle, while Battus sits nearby, unaware of the deity's true identity.\n\nPeake demonstrates technical precision in his handling of the copper plate. The print captures the atmospheric qualities of Lorrain's original, utilising a range of tonal values to suggest the depth of the Italianate countryside. Large, feathery trees frame the composition on the left and centre, drawing the eye toward a distant harbour and a hazy horizon. To the right, the ruins of a classical structure sit atop a gentle rise, a common motif in the pastoral tradition that evokes a sense of antiquity and timelessness. Below, cattle graze near a stream, providing a sense of scale and rural tranquillity.\n\nJohn Boydell, the publisher, commissioned this work as part of his efforts to make European masterworks accessible to a wider British audience. The print includes the original dedication to the Duke of Devonshire, reflecting the provenance of the painting held in his collection at the time. The meticulous cross-hatching and stippling techniques employed by Peake allow for a subtle transition between the shadowed foreground and the luminous, expansive sky. This print offers a window into the eighteenth-century appreciation for classical subjects and the idealised natural world, rendered with the clarity and discipline characteristic of the period's reproductive printmaking.\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=\"\/products\/allegory-of-justice-nicolas-poussin\" 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;\"\u003eAllegory of Justice - Nicolas Poussin — Nicolas Poussin\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/robert-duke-of-normandy-in-prison-jean-jacques-francois-le-barbier\" 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;\"\u003eRobert, Duke of Normandy, in Prison - Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier — Jean-Jacques-François Le Barbier\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"James Peak","offers":[{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A4 (21x29.7 cm) \/ -","offer_id":57891428270415,"sku":null,"price":28.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A3 (29.7 x 42  cm) \/ -","offer_id":58178093547855,"sku":null,"price":35.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A2 (42 x 59.4  cm) \/ -","offer_id":58178093580623,"sku":null,"price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ B2 (50x70 cm) \/ -","offer_id":58178093613391,"sku":null,"price":50.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"Fine Art Poster \/ A1 (59.4 x 84.1  cm) \/ -","offer_id":58178093646159,"sku":null,"price":55.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0833\/9292\/1935\/files\/Mercury-and-Battus_Poster_CompositorV1_1780789330975.jpg?v=1781145534","url":"https:\/\/www.solisprints.co.uk\/products\/mercury-and-battus-james-peake","provider":"Solis Prints","version":"1.0","type":"link"}