Footed Vessel with Handle (verso)
Medium
black chalk
Dimensions
{"sheet":{"height":0.355,"width":0.524},"secondary support":{"height":0.366,"width":0.533},"tertiary support":{"height":0.383,"width":0.55}}
Classification
Drawing
Department
Drawings
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund
Accession Number
1997.52.b
Tags
About this artwork
To atone for the crime of killing his family, the Greek hero Hercules was required to perform twelve labors. In this final study for a fresco of this subject commissioned by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese for the ceiling of his study in his family’s Roman palace, Hercules rests, surrounded by evidence of his toil: the head of the Erymanthian boar he captured; the three golden apples of the Hesperides; and the hide of the Nemean lion on which he sits. The hero’s pose and exaggerated musculature are a r...