Mythology & Putti
GIUSEPPE NICCOLÒ VICENTINO (ACTIVE C. 1530-50)
Hercules Strangling the Nemean Lion
c.1525-30Chiaroscuro woodcut, from two blocks, in olive green | 25.1 x 19.7 cm (sheet of paper) | RCIN 851846
A chiaroscuro woodcut after a design traditionally attributed to Raphael. First state. Signed on plate at lower left, and crediting Raphael with the invention of the composition. A second state impression at RCIN 851847.
The authorship of the design is a matter of dispute, with some scholars supporting the traditional attribution to Raphael (Oberhuber/Gnann 1999, p.112), and others suggesting that the composition may derive from a drawing by Giulio Romano related to the fresco of the same subject in the Sala dei Cavalli in the Palazzo Te, Mantua, part of a cycle illustrating the Labours of Hercules (Raphael Invenit 1985, p.249, VII.6).
A drawing formerly in the Cosway and Phillips-Fenwick Collection and now in the British Museum, London (inv. no.1946,0713.353*) has often been described as the original by Giulio Romano on which Vicentino's chiaroscuro was based; it is now generally thought to be a copy after the chiaroscuro. The drawing was engraved in facsimile by Metz when in the Cosway Collection; see RCIN 851851.
The authorship of the design is a matter of dispute, with some scholars supporting the traditional attribution to Raphael (Oberhuber/Gnann 1999, p.112), and others suggesting that the composition may derive from a drawing by Giulio Romano related to the fresco of the same subject in the Sala dei Cavalli in the Palazzo Te, Mantua, part of a cycle illustrating the Labours of Hercules (Raphael Invenit 1985, p.249, VII.6).
A drawing formerly in the Cosway and Phillips-Fenwick Collection and now in the British Museum, London (inv. no.1946,0713.353*) has often been described as the original by Giulio Romano on which Vicentino's chiaroscuro was based; it is now generally thought to be a copy after the chiaroscuro. The drawing was engraved in facsimile by Metz when in the Cosway Collection; see RCIN 851851.
Creator(s)
Giuseppe Niccolò Vicentino (active c. 1530-50) (wood cutter)
After Giulio Romano (Rome c. 1499-Mantua 1546) (designer)
25.1 x 19.7 cm (sheet of paper)
- Added to the Prince Consort's Raphael Collection (c.1853-76)
Subject(s)
- Language, Linguistics and Literature
- Literature
- Fiction
- Tales & legends
- Myths
- Tales & legends
- Fiction
- Literature
- Religion & Theology
- Religions and faiths
- Religions of antiquity
- Classical mythology
- Hercules
- Classical mythology
- Religions of antiquity
- Religions and faiths
Object type(s)
- visual works
- prints
- Language, Linguistics and Literature
Bibliographic reference(s)
Raphael Invenit 1985 : G. Bernini Pezzini et al., Raphael Invenit. Stampe di Raffaello nelle Collezioni dell'Istituto Nazionale per la Grafica, Rome, 1985 p.249, no.VII.6
Other number(s)
Ruland p.137 D.LVIII.5