The Farnese Hercules / Hendrick Goltzius
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About this Item
Record Details
- Accession Number
- 1994/2.13
- Title
- The Farnese Hercules
- Artist
- Hendrick Goltzius
- Artist Nationality
- Dutch
- Artist Life Dates
- 1558 - 1617
- Medium and Support
- engraving on medium weight laid paper
- Object Creation Date
- circa 1592
- Object Creation Place
- Europe (continent)
- Netherlands (nation)
- North Holland (province)
- Haarlem (inhabited place)
- Creation Place 1
- Europe (continent)
- Creation Place 2
- Netherlands (nation)
- Creation Place 3
- North Holland (province)
- Creation Place 4
- Haarlem (inhabited place)
- Style/Group/Movement
- Mannerist
- Inscription
- Inscribed in plate, l.l.: HGoltzius Sculp. Cum privilig. / Sa. Cë.M. Inscribed in plate, l.l.: Herman Adolfz / excud. Haerlemen. Inscribed in plate, on base of sculpture: HERCULES VICTOR Inscribed in plate, l.l. (below image): Domito triformi rege Lusitanië, / Raptisq [uibus] malis quë Hesperi Sub cardine Inscribed in plate, bottom center (below image): Statua antiqua Romë in palatio Cardinalis Fernesii / opus posthumum HGoltzy, iam primum divulgat. Ano.M.D.C.X.VII. Inscribed in plate, l.r. (below image): Servarat bortis aureis vigil draco, / Fessus quievi terror orbis Hercules. Secbrevel Verso, inscribed in graphite, CC & CR: "& marges/avec phanches/bordé[sic?] en bleu"; LC & LL: "58-51 [?]/anneaux" Watermark:"...M[?].../...ER...[partially indecipherable]
- Dimensions
- 41.7 cm x 29.6 cm (16 7/16 in. x 11 5/8 in.)
- Century
- 16th century
- Primary Object Classification
- Physical Description
- This impressively large engraving depicts the muscular back of a marble statue of a man. The figure leans upon a club draped with a lion skin and holds three apples in his right hand behind his back. Two men look up at the statue from the lower right corner of the print.
- Subject Matter
- This virtuosic engraving depicts the famous Farnese Hercules, a colossal ancient statue unearthed in Rome in the mid-sixteenth century and displayed there in the Farnese Palace. The statue represents Hercules resting upon his club, perhaps after he completed his eleventh labor of stealing the golden apples from the Hesperides, which he holds in his hand. The skin of the Nemean lion, which Hercules slew to complete his first labor, is draped over his club.
- From the time of its discovery until the late eighteenth century the statue had a profound influence upon artists, many of whom made a pilgrimage to Rome to study the sculpture along with the city's other artistic glories. It was on such a sojourn in 1591 that the Dutch artist Hendrick Goltzius made careful drawings of the statue, which he translated into a tour-de-force engraving upon returning home to Haarlem.
- Primary Keywords
- apples
- clubs (weapons)
- engraving (printing process)
- mannerist
- nudes
- spectators
- statues
- Secondary Keywords
- descriptors
- european
- european styles and periods
- figures (representations)
- food
- fruit
- image-making processes and techniques
- intaglio printing processes
- materials
- materials by function
- objects we use
- people
- people (agents)
- people and culture
- people by activity
- percussive weapons
- printing and printing processes and techniques
- printing processes
- processes and techniques
- processes and techniques by specific type
- renaissance-baroque styles
- renaissance-baroque styles and periods
- sculpture
- sculpture by subject type
- styles and periods
- styles and periods by region
- visual works
- visual works by medium or technique
- visual works by subject type
- weapons
- weapons and ammunition
- Rights
- If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/about/services/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.
Technical Details
- Collection
- University of Michigan Museum of Art
- Image Size
- 995 x 1451
- File Size
- 199 KB
- Record
- 1994/2.13
- Link to this Item
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1994-sl-2.13/1994_2.13.jpg
Rights and Permissions
Related Links
Portfolios
IIIF
- Manifest
-
https://quod.lib.umich.edu/cgi/i/image/api/manifest/musart:1994-SL-2.13:1994_2.13.JPG
Cite this Item
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- Full citation
-
"The Farnese Hercules; Hendrick Goltzius." In the digital collection University of Michigan Museum of Art. https://quod.lib.umich.edu/m/musart/x-1994-sl-2.13/1994_2.13.jpg. University of Michigan Library Digital Collections. Accessed April 25, 2024.
