Detail of the Bronze Hercules in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, January 2018

Statue of Hercules

Roman

Imperial Period

about 1st century B.C. - 1st century A.D.

Medium/Technique Bronze

Dimensions Height: 101 cm (39 3/4 in.)

Credit Line: Catharine Page Perkins Fund

Accession Number: 95.76

Collections: Ancient Greece and Rome

Classifications: Sculpture


Hercules (known to the Greeks as Herakles) was technically a hero rather than a proper god; his mother, Alkmene, was a mortal woman who had been impregnated by Zeus. The magnitude of Hercules' deeds, however, ultimately secured his immortality, as well as the religious devotion of many generations of Greeks and Romans. His immense popularity with rulers and common people alike led to the construction of numerous temples in his honor in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, in addition to countless more modest private shrines.

This bronze statue of Hercules, immediately identifiable by the skin of the Nemean lion draped over one shoulder, is reported to have been discovered about 1872 in central Italy. Associated with a small, round building, the roughly half-life-size statue is much larger than the scores of bronze statuettes alleged to have been found with it. Its scale and context suggest that it served as the cult image in a local, or perhaps even private, temple to Hercules. This level of prominence would have justified the expense of the silver or other precious material originally inlaid into the now-empty eye sockets. A small depression in the palm of Hercules' outstretched right hand may have held some sort of attribute-perhaps a cup that would have recalled both his famed drinking contest with the wine god, Dionysus (Dionysos to the Greeks), and his hard-earned right to participate in divine banquets. Or perhaps he clutched the magical golden apples that he stole from the garden of the Hesperides, one of his final labors on the path to immortality.

Catalogue Raisonné: Greek, Etruscan, & Roman Bronzes (MFA), no. 106; Sculpture in Stone and Bronze (MFA), p. 120 (additional published references); Highlights: Classical Art (MFA), p. 036-037.

Description: Herakles stands with his right leg bent and right arm extended forward. The skin of the Nemean lion, which he killed as one of his earliest labors, is draped over his left shoulder and wraps around his left forearm. On his head, he wears a twisted fillet. In his left hand, he originally held a club, which was inserted into a hole formed by his closed fingers and which projected down at an angle. The significance of Herakles' extended right hand is not entirely clear, but he may be reaching for a cup of wine (in this type, called “Bibax”, Herakles is often shown holding a wine cup), although there is no trace of a cup here. He might also be reaching for the golden apples that he took from the garden of the Hesperides. Both the wine and the apples symbolized the end of his trials and his attainment of immortality. Here, however, the gesture may merely signify a genial welcome.

The statue has been put together from fragments. The mane and the head of the lion-skin have been restored; also a piece in the upper part of the right thigh, and a small piece in the middle of the back are restoration.

The piece has a dark patina with green encrustation.

Provenance: By 1872, found near Norcia, Italy, in the ruins of a little round building [see note 1]. By 1892, Francesco Martinetti (b. 1833 – d. 1895), Rome [note 2]; by 1894, sold by Francesco Martinetti to Edward Perry Warren (b. 1860 - d. 1928), London; 1895, sold by Edward Perry Warren to the MFA for $ 29,857.37 [note 3]. (Accession Date: June 9, 1895)

Notes:

[1] According to a letter from Edward Perry Warren to General Loring dated November 11, 1895, “the Hercules was found near Norcia in Umbria in 1872 or earlier in the ruins of a little round building. At the same time were found some scores of bronze statuettes of Hercules, probably ex-votos, roughly executed to be sold cheap. It seems therefore that the round building was a temple of Hercules.”

[2] According to a letter from Edward Perry Warren dated December 26, 1892.

[3] This figure is the total price for MFA 95.9-95.174.

Text from: collections.mfa.org/objects/152742/statue-of-hercules