This small bronze figure features the ancient hero Hercules as he carries the subdued Erymanthean Boar across his shoulder. The scene depicts the fourth of the Twelve Labors of Hercules, a series of tasks presumed impossible ordered by King Eurystheus. Antoine-Louis Barye (1796-1875) based this sculpture on a figure from a bronze set of statuettes created by Giambologna (1529-1608) for the Grand Duke Francesco I de'Medici of Tuscany (1541-1587). Barye preserves the animated, dynamic pose characteristic of Giambologna's figure, while adding a brilliant visual and tactile contrast by gilding the muscular body of Hercules, which appears smooth against the coarsely-treated bronze of the beast.
Hercules is gilded. This was the fourth of the Twelve Labors of Hercules.
After Giambologna (Douai 1529-1608 Florence).