Hercules Slays Diomedes and his Flesh-Eating Mares (Apollodorus, II, 5, 8 and Quintus Smyrnaeus, VI, 247-250)
Medium
Outline engraving and etching
Dimensions
Plate: 12 5/8 × 9 13/16 in. (32 × 25 cm) Sheet: 19 5/16 × 13 9/16 in. (49 × 34.4 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Jenny Philippsohn, in memory of Siegfried Philippsohn, 1955
Accession Number
55.526.12
Tags
Art Historical Context
In this striking 1806 outline engraving and etching, Henry Fuseli, the visionary Romantic artist famed for his dramatic depictions of mythology and the supernatural, collaborates with engraver Johann Heinrich Lips to capture a pivotal moment from Hercules' second labor. The scene illustrates the hero slaying King Diomedes and taming his ferocious, flesh-eating mares, drawing from ancient texts like Apollodorus'Library* (II, 5, 8) and Quintus Smyeus' *Posthomerica* (VI, 247-250). Measuring 12⅝ × 9⅞ inches on the plate, this print pulses with Fuseli's signature intensity—bold contours and shadow...
About the Artist
Henry Fuseli|Johann Heinrich Lips
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zürich, was a Swiss-British painter whose visionary works exploring dreams, nightmares, and psychological terror made him one of the most original figures of the Romantic movement. His art bridged Neoclassical discipline with Romantic emotionalism, creating images of supernatural intensity that would influence artists from William Blake to t...