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Source Description
This engraved plaque, along with Walters 41.70, show scenes from the life of the mythological hero Hercules and were initially set into a sumptuous, gilded casket that belonged to the ducal Gonzaga family of Mantua. Hercules was famous for his strength and virtue, and princes often surrounded themselves with his image as an ideal for (and an idealized image of) themselves. The rivalry of Hercules and the river-god Achelous was narrated in the Roman poet Ovid's The Metamorphoses. Both were suitors of Deianira, the beautiful Greek maiden who became Hercules's wife. Annibale Fontana's genius as an engraver comes through in details such as the spiky underbrush of the riverbank and the shaggy lion's skin that Hercules wore.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
21338
label
Plaque with Hercules and Achelous
core
obj
dtoType
object
citationUrl
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
21338
sourceUrl
contentType
object
stage
normalized
title
Plaque with Hercules and Achelous
description
This engraved plaque, along with Walters 41.70, show scenes from the life of the mythological hero Hercules and were initially set into a sumptuous, gilded casket that belonged to the ducal Gonzaga family of Mantua. Hercules was famous for his strength and virtue, and princes often surrounded themselves with his image as an ideal for (and an idealized image of) themselves. The rivalry of Hercules and the river-god Achelous was narrated in the Roman poet Ovid's The Metamorphoses. Both were suitors of Deianira, the beautiful Greek maiden who became Hercules's wife. Annibale Fontana's genius as an engraver comes through in details such as the spiky underbrush of the riverbank and the shaggy lion's skin that Hercules wore.
provenance
Henry Walters, Baltimore [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
date
ca. 1560-1570 (Renaissance)
citationUrl
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
genreSpecific
Stone
plaques
imageCount
1
pageCount
1
source
import
dimensions
units
cm
width
10.3
height
13.3
dimensionsRaw
H: 4 1/16 x W: 5 1/4 in. (10.3 x 13.3 cm)
Source extras
med
rock crystal, enameled gold
creator_ids
4109
collection_ids
REN
exhibition_ids
1994
2617
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
a926b9aa5c92a92d