Jupiter and Mercury at the House of Philemon and Baucis

This print illustrates the Greco-Roman myth of the gods Jupiter and Mercury disguising themselves as ordinary peasants in need of hospitality. All, except the poor couple Baucis and Philemon, whose generosity surpassed that of their rich neighbors, rejected them. This engraving shows the moment when Baucis realizes that their guests are gods, a revelation that is conveyed in the artful placement of the room’s single source of light next to the supernatural beings. From 1608–10, Goudt was in Rome, where he met the German painter Adam Elsheimer, whose paintings of nocturnal scenes on copper were innovative and rare. Goudt’s engravings after Elsheimer’s works, such as this one, popularized his work, making him highly influential for subsequent generations of artists.