12.5 Inches High x 8.75 Inches Wide x 10.5 Inches Deep
Life-size bust. Hercules, also known as the Lansdowne Herakles, was discovered at the ruins of a villa outside Rome belonging to the Roman emperor Hadrian. As with much Roman art, it is likely a marble copy of a Greek bronze original. Depicted nude, Hercules stands in contrapposto, resting a club on his left shoulder and carrying the skin of the Nemean Lion – a foe he defeated in his first labor according to mythology – in his right hand. A narrow head piece wraps around the head of curly locks. Scholars have not attributed the work to any one sculptor, as there are several possibilities, including Praxiteles, Lysippos, Skopas, and Euphranor. On the cast in our collection, we have left intact the seam lines created during the old moldmaking process used in the past.
Artist: Unknown
Museum: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Origin: Hadrian’s Villa, Tivoli, Italy
Time Period: Ancient Greek, c. 4th century B.C.E./Ancient Roman, c. 125 C.E.
Sources:
Howard, Seymour. The Lansdowne Herakles. The J. Paul Getty Museum, 1978. Virtual Library (Publications Getty), http:///asset/statue-of-hercules-lansdowne-herakles-unknown/XAGIaCkT4i1nuA?hl=en.
“Statue of Hercules (Lansdowne Herakles).” Museum number 70.AA.109.1. The J. Paul Getty Museum, http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/224596/unknown-maker-statue-of-hercules-lansdowne-herakles-roman-about-ad-125/?dz=0.5000,0.8796,0.32.