794 - Hercules as a Child with a Lion’s Skin and Shield

Hercules as a Child with a Lion’s Skin and Shield Flemish c. 1600 Limestone Height 45.5 cm Hercules, the Greek Heracles, was regarded as a symbol of extraordinary strength and the victorious overcoming of dangers. According to legend, he demonstrated his strength even as an infant by strangling two snakes sent against him by Hera. Depictions of the child hero thus emphasize his destiny, evident from an early age. The lion’s skin, on the other hand, refers to one of his later feats-the victory over the Nemean Lion-and characterizes him regardless of the age depicted. The limestone figure depicts a naked boy in contrapposto on a plinth. A lion’s skin drapes over his body like a cloak; in his right hand, he holds the lion’s tail, which is attached to the cloak. The gesture underscores the triumphant nature of the depiction. His left hand holds a shield-shaped object bearing a graphic depiction of a stag’s head. This may originally have served as a coat of arms, placing the figure in a heraldic context. Small, curled locks frame the chubby face. The head is turned upward to the left; narrow eyebrows and large, wide-open eyes with notched irises give him a lively expression. A prominent nose with a clearly defined philtrum, the small, slightly open mouth, and the pointed chin complete the childlike physiognomy. The contrast between the rounded body and the heroic lion’s mane gives the figure its special charm: the strength of the ancient hero appears here in the form of a young child. The combination of a childlike figure with a lion’s skin is already attested in ancient Hercules iconography. A point of comparison is the standing statuette of the child Hercules in the Capitoline Museums in Rome (Inv. No. Scu 383), which depicts the young hero in contrapposto with the lion’s skin and attributes of his later deeds. The depiction in Tarragona also takes up the lion’s skin as a foreshadowing of his heroic destiny.