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Description

French school; 1800s. "Hercules." Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Measurements: 59 x 73 cm; 78.5 x 93 cm (frame). Formally this scene is part of the academicism, and therefore follows classical standards of which the first is the high technical quality. Thus, the drawing is rigorous and firm, although one can appreciate in the conception a taste for the sumptuous, typical of the French school and its rococo heritage. The academicism is a direct inheritance of classicism, and hence the predilection for themes such as the one presented here, taken from mythology, although captured from a sensual and decorative point of view far from the solemnity of ancient classical art or the rigorousness of the sources. Hence also the way of approaching the subject, recreating the mythological figures in a totally new way. Nevertheless, we can appreciate an ideal of beauty that is not based on reality, although the painter's study of nature is undeniable, but rather an idealism based on reality through his sum of experience, that is to say, an aesthetic sublimation that reflects a beauty that transcends reality. The work presents the protagonist in the center of the scene. He is dressed in the skin of a lion and with one of his hands he holds a nail in the ground, indicating that he is the representation of the mythological hero Hercules. Next to him a group of women and children direct their attention to the demigod, emphasizing in this group the presence of a bearded old man who plays the harp and that by his gesture seems to claim something to the protagonist. In the same shot, but at the other end of the composition, a young woman with a bow directs her gaze towards a dog while pointing at Hercules. The presence of the bow and the dates indicate that it is probably the representation of the goddess Diana. Behind them, in a sketchy way, a scene is developed with three characters, a very common narrative resource in mythological paintings. Hercules or Heracles is the most famous hero of Greek mythology and perhaps also of classical antiquity. His name derives from the goddess Hera and the Greek word "kleos" (glory), that is to say "glory of Hera".

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French school; 1800s. "Hercules." Oil on canvas. Preserves original canvas. Measurements: 59 x 73 cm; 78.5 x 93 cm (frame). Formally this scene is part of the academicism, and therefore follows classical standards of which the first is the high technical quality. Thus, the drawing is rigorous and firm, although one can appreciate in the conception a taste for the sumptuous, typical of the French school and its rococo heritage. The academicism is a direct inheritance of classicism, and hence the predilection for themes such as the one presented here, taken from mythology, although captured from a sensual and decorative point of view far from the solemnity of ancient classical art or the rigorousness of the sources. Hence also the way of approaching the subject, recreating the mythological figures in a totally new way. Nevertheless, we can appreciate an ideal of beauty that is not based on reality, although the painter's study of nature is undeniable, but rather an idealism based on reality through his sum of experience, that is to say, an aesthetic sublimation that reflects a beauty that transcends reality. The work presents the protagonist in the center of the scene. He is dressed in the skin of a lion and with one of his hands he holds a nail in the ground, indicating that he is the representation of the mythological hero Hercules. Next to him a group of women and children direct their attention to the demigod, emphasizing in this group the presence of a bearded old man who plays the harp and that by his gesture seems to claim something to the protagonist. In the same shot, but at the other end of the composition, a young woman with a bow directs her gaze towards a dog while pointing at Hercules. The presence of the bow and the dates indicate that it is probably the representation of the goddess Diana. Behind them, in a sketchy way, a scene is developed with three characters, a very common narrative resource in mythological paintings. Hercules or Heracles is the most famous hero of Greek mythology and perhaps also of classical antiquity. His name derives from the goddess Hera and the Greek word "kleos" (glory), that is to say "glory of Hera".

Estimate 2 500 - 3 000 EUR
Starting price 1 500 EUR

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