The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 7, 2024

The Farnesian Hercules

The Farnesian Hercules

1592
(Dutch, 1558–1617)
Netherlands, 16th century
engraving
Platemark: 40.4 x 29.4 cm (15 7/8 x 11 9/16 in.); Sheet: 42.5 x 30.2 cm (16 3/4 x 11 7/8 in.)
Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2022.137
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The 3rd-century Farnese Hercules was unearthed in 1546 in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome and was on display in the courtyard of the Farnese Palace by the time Hendrick Goltzius visited the city.

Description

Hendrick Goltzius was one of many late Renaissance artists who felt compelled to travel to Italy as part of his artistic training. He went with one purpose—to study antique sculpture. Goltzius made drawings on-site and then made engravings after his designs once he returned to Haarlem in 1591. He portrayed the Farnese Hercules from a low viewpoint to capture the awesome experience of first encountering the famous monument. Goltzius showed the sculpture from behind and in shadow, emphasizing its glowing highlights. The print includes two observers, who were assumed by contemporary Dutch commentators to be a self-portrait of Goltzius with his stepson, Jacob Matham, who was also an engraver.
  • Samuel Solomonovitsch Scheikevitch, Moscow
    Private Collection, Europe
    June 27, 1989
    (Sotheby's, London, England), Lot 29
    Private Collection, United States of America
    ?-2022
    (C.G. Boerner, LLC, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    December 5, 2022-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Goltzius, Hendrik, and Walter L. Strauss. Hendrik Goltzius, 1558-1617: The Complete Engravings and Woodcuts. New York: Abaris Books, 1977. 312–14
  • {{cite web|title=The Farnesian Hercules|url=false|author=Hendrick Goltzius|year=1592|access-date=07 May 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2022.137