Carracci drew this resting Hercules while preparing a fresco cycle for Cardinal Odoardo Farnese’s private study in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. The mythical Roman hero is identified by his club, a lion’s hide, and the apple in his right hand. Though lifelike, the figure was not drawn from a live model. Instead, it was inspired by works that Carracci, a recent transplant from Bologna, encountered in Rome, such as an ancient sculpture of the reclining Roman river god Tiber. The drawing is executed on blue paper, which creates a middle tone between the black chalk shadows and white chalk highlights, endowing Hercules with a greater degree of volume and naturalism.
Annibale Carracci
Italian, 1560–1609
Study of Hercules resting, with separate studies of his head and foot, 1595–97
Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on blue paper, incised
The Art Institute of Chicago, gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray; 2019.838
Gray Collection Trust, Art Institute of Chicago
Photography by Jamie Stukenberg, Professional Graphics Inc.
Austėja Mackelaitė: In the Renaissance imagination, Hercules was the epitome of might and masculinity, a demigod born to Jupiter and the mortal Alcmene. He is best known for performing 12 labors as penance for killing his wife and children in a fit of madness. In this preparatory drawing, he is shown in repose, resting his right elbow on the pelt of the Nemean lion that he slew during his first labor. While the hero's face, hair, and beard are rendered in a few soft strokes, Carracci's focus is on his massive musculature, described through carefully blended areas of black chalk touched with white. Note that, at lower right, the artist has sketched Hercules' foot a second time, now significantly enlarged. Just above it appears a ghostly head, possibly another option for the hero's visage in the finished composition.