Hercules and Antaeus

The series of drawings showing Hercules and Antaeus, which Gian Domenico Tiepolo executed in his artistic maturity, cannot be related to any known finished works, although James Byam Shaw suggested that they might have been inspired by Domenico's work at the Tiepolo villa in Zianigo (J. Byam Shaw, The Drawings of Domenico Tiepolo, London, 1962, p. 38). The liveliness and vigor of the subject evidently appealed to Domenico, who represented it many times from different angles. Three other interpretations of this subject were included, with the present one, in the album of drawings, belonging to the Earl Beauchamp, which was sold at Christie’s in London on 15 June 1965, lots 149-152.