The pose and type of the present finely chiselled figure of Hercules appears to be a combination of two Antique representations. The facial features, massive musculature and position of the legs of the present figure are derived from the Farnese Hercules. The presence of the club in the right hand, the idea of the lionskin over one shoulder and the left hand brought forward are dependent on the figure of Commodus as Hercules, now in the Vatican Museum. Finally, the sculptor of the present bronze must also have been aware of Coustou's own Hercule Commode in the Parc de Versailles, for there too does Hercules hold the apples of the Hesperides forward in his left hand.