ITALIAN, 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE MODEL OF THE FARNESE HERCULES
ITALIAN, 17TH CENTURY
Depicted standing with his left arm resting on top of his club and holding three apples behind his back with his right hand; on an integrally cast base; dark brown patina with lighter high points
23¾ in. (60.4 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique - The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 229-232, fig 118.

Special notice

No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 17.5% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis

Lot Essay

The bronze offered in the present lot is modelled after a Roman marble dating from about 200 A.D., now in the Museo Nazionale, Naples, which is in turn derived from a 4th century B.C. original, thought to be by the sculptor Lyssipus. The Roman sculpture was discovered in the Baths of Caracalla, Rome, by 1556 and was acquired by Pope Paul III Farnese, where he displayed it in the arcade around the courtyard of the Farnese Palace, Rome.

Hercules is shown here resting after having completed the twelve tasks assigned to him by Eurystheus and as instructed by the Delphic Oracle. He leans wearily on his club and the Nemean lion's skin, and holds behind his back the three golden apples that eventually ensured his immortality.

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