Object number2016.3
Hercules and the Stymphalian Birds
Datec. 1872
Artist
Gustave Moreau
(French, 1826-1898)
CultureFrench
MediumOil on panel
DimensionsImage: 7 1/2 x 11 1/4 in. (19.05 x 28.58 cm)
Framed: 17 x 15 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (43.18 x 39.37 x 7.06 cm)
Framed: 17 x 15 1/2 x 2 3/4 in. (43.18 x 39.37 x 7.06 cm)
Credit LinePurchase, gift of Elizabeth S. Colie, Mrs. Ruth Britten (Ruth Rutchik, class of 1958) and Mrs. Harold Deutsch (Barbara Cabot, class of 1956), by exchange
On View
On viewPeriod19th c
Classification(s)
SignedOn recto, signed lower right corner: _Gustave Moreau._ ; on verso, signed upper center: _Gustave Moreau._
InscribedOn verso, by artist, inscribed: Hercule au lac Stymphale - Ve[obscured by label]stasi. _ Don _;
on a label affixed to the verso, possibly by artist, in ink: Vent Anastasi / no87 / (5 Février 1872);
on verso, by unidentified hand, upper right edge in chalk: 48 ND
MarkingsOn verso, partially visible stamp in black ink from Ange and Henry Ottoz 2 Rue de la Michodière Paris
BibliographyPierre-Louis Mathieu, Gustave Moreau, sa vie, so oeuvre. Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre achevé, Fribourg, 1976, no. 132;
Pierre-Louis Mathieu, Gustave Moreau, monographie et nouveau catalogue raisonne de l'oeuvre acheve, Paris, 1998, no. 444 or 150?ProvenanceParis, Hôtel Drouot, sale 'Tableaux offerts par tous les artistes à M. Anastasi, leur confrère frappé de cércité', 5-6 February 1872, lot 87. Private collection, Paris.
Galerie Jean-Francois Heim;
Private collection;
purchased through Galerie Jean-Francois Heim
Exhibition HistoryExtended loan, Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA, July 1, 2009 - November 18, 2015
Label TextGustave Moreau’s intimately scaled composition depicts a scene from the sixth labor of the ancient hero Hercules. Dressed in the Nemean Lion skin, Hercules uses his skills as an archer to triumph over man-eating birds who attacked the inhabitants around Lake Stymphalus in Arcadia. Moreau portrays Hercules in a commanding yet graceful pose that contrasts sharply with the corpses strewn about the rocky landscape soaked in the light of a blood-red sun. Rather than depicting an idealized classical past, Moreau’s scene emphasizes a vision of a fantastic and nightmarish world. The composition straddles aspects of academic history painting as well as a more avant-garde and experimental approach, as seen in his imaginative imagery and encrusted surface effects. Moreau incorporated influences from numerous periods and cultures into his works, including Indian and Persian miniature paintings, which he viewed on frequent visits to exhibitions and the print room of the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris.
Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge.
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Frans Floris, the elder
Nd
Culture: Netherlandish, Flemish, French
