Bust of Hercules and Dejanira
ca. 1531–76
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
sheet: 6 1/16 x 4 7/16 in. (15.4 x 11.2 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Elisha Whittelsey Collection, The Elisha Whittelsey Fund, 1949
Accession Number
49.97.294
Tags
Art Historical Context
Behold the intricate *Bust of Hercules andjanira*, an engraving by the masterful Italian artist Giulio Bonasone, created sometime between 1531 and 1576. Bonasone, a prominent Bolognese printmaker of the Renaissance, was renowned for his reproductive engravings that captured the elegance of designs by masters like Raphael and Parmigianino. This-scale work (just 6 1/16 x 4 7/16 inches) depicts the mythological couple in a dramatic bust format—Hercules, the heroic strongman of classical lore, alongside his wife Dejanira, whose tragic story of love and unwitting betrayal would later lead to his de...
About the Artist
Giulio Bonasone · 1500–1600
Comment on works: History; Mythology