Hercules and the Hydra
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Plate: 10 3/16 × 7 11/16 in. (25.9 × 19.6 cm) Sheet: 10 13/16 × 8 5/16 in. (27.4 × 21.1 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Bequest of Grace M. Pugh, 1985
Accession Number
1986.1180.522
Art Historical Context
Behold *Hercules and the*, a dynamic etching from 1651 by Simon Vouet the preeminent French Baroque painter, collaboration with engraver Michel Dorigny. print captures the mythological hero Hercules battling the multi-headed Lernaean Hydra, a classic subject from Greek lore symbolizing triumph over chaos. Vouet's dramatic composition reflects the exuberant Baroque style he imported from Italy, with swirling forms and intense action that evoke the grandeur of 17th-century French court art under Louis XIII and XIV. Etched on a modest plate measuring 10 3/16 × 7 11/16 inches, the work exemplifie...
About the Artist
Simon Vouet|Michel Dorigny · 1590–1649
French painter. Comment on works: Portraits; Religious; Mythology; Allegory