Hercules Fighting the Fury and the Discord

Art Historical Context

This dynamic woodcut from1630 depicts the mythological hero Hercules locked in combat the allegorical figures of and Discord. Designed the Flemish master Sir Peter Rubens and carved bymaker Christoffel Jegher, the image Rubens’s signature Baroque approach with its emphasis on movement, muscular forms, dramatic tension drawn from sources. Executed as acut on laid paper measuring roughly 60 by35 centimeters, the print the important role of reproductive graphics in the seventeenth century. Woodcuts leading painters like Rubens to share bold with wider audiences, extending the reach of their work...