The Farnesian Hercules, plate one from Three Famous Antique Sculptures
c. 1592
Medium
Engraving on paper
Dimensions
Image: 39.8 × 29.3 cm (15 11/16 × 11 9/16 in.); Plate: 41.5 × 30 cm (16 3/8 × 11 13/16 in.); Sheet: 45 × 33.4 cm (17 3/4 × 13 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
74120
Art Historical Context
Behold *The Farnesian Hercules*, the first plate from Hendrick Goltzius's celebrated series *Three Famous Antique Sculptures* (c. 1592). This masterful engraving captures the iconic Farnese Hercules, a colossal ancient marble statue rediscovered in the Renaissance and prized by the powerful Farnese family in Italy. Goltzius, a leading Dutch Mannerist engraver, transforms the Herculean figure—depicted in weary repose after his labors—into a dynamic print that rivals the sculpture's monumentality. Printed on paper with precise dimensions (image: 39.8 × 29.3 cm), this work exemplifies Goltzius's...
About the Artist
Hendrick Goltzius · 1558–1617
Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617) was the most celebrated engraver of the Northern Renaissance and a pivotal figure in Dutch Mannerism. Born near the German-Dutch border, Goltzius transformed printmaking into a virtuoso art form through his revolutionary 'swelling line' technique, where the burin was manipulated to create lines of varying thickness that produced unprecedented tonal effects and three-d...