Drawing depicting a portion of a design for a dish, formerly attributed to Polidoro Caldara (also known as Polidoro da Caravaggio). Italian School, ca. late 16th century.

Drawing depicting a portion of a design for a dish with Hercules slaying Cacus.

From the collection of R. Johnson.

This design was bought by the museum in 1919. It was formerly attributed to Polidoro Caldara.

In 1545-6 Franco frescoed the vault of the choir of Urbino Cathedral with the Assumption of the Virgin (destr.), the work disappointed Guidobaldo II della Rovere, Duke of Urbino, because it failed to equal the quality of Franco's preparatory drawings, and he delayed its payment. Thinking Franco's skills were better suited to working on a small scale, the Duke commissioned him to make designs for maiolica produced at Casteldurante.
Maria Sica. "Franco Battista" Grove Art Online. OUP, 26/09/2005.

Timothy Clifford and John Mallet thought that this design was a coarse, traced copy probably by a maiolica painter from a lost Franco design for a plate with the subject of 'Hercules and Cacus'. They pointed out that 'an excellent maiolica plate survives with 'Hercules and Cerberus'; its borders filled with brilliantly designed and executed fighting animals...' They went on to say that because of the existence of this crude copy with a similar animal border it seems likely that there once existed a service with the 'Labours of Hercules'.

The border design relates closely to a maiolica plate in the MAK, Vienna (KE 3335), which depicts Hercules and the Hydra at the centre. The half-done border design implies that the final plate would have been symmetrical; a characteristic of Franco's maiolica designs.

The Cerberus plate has on its back a curious inscription with the letters 'CD' and what may be either a coronet or a caduceus. It is tempting to suppose that these initials stand either for 'Castel Durante' or for the name of the artist (? Camillo Durantino) or workshop; but they could equally stand for the name of the plate's first owner. The subject might have been appropriate for Charles V, whose 'impresa' was the Columns of Hercules'. See the References tab.

Attribution note: The design was incised with a stylus for transfer to a maiolica dish before painting and firing.

Design for a maiolica dish showing Hercules killing Cacus in the centre, and in the border a frieze of dogs worrying bulls and deer. Only about half the design is shown and the drawing appears to have been cut down at some point in its history. It is possibly a traced copy of a work by the painter and draughtsman, Battista Franco (born in Venice about 1510 and died there in 1561).

No plate is known to exist to this design, although a fine plate showing 'Hercules and Cerberus' with a similar border of fighting animals does survive. Scholars have speculated that there once existed a whole service depicting the 'Labours of Hercules', designed by Battista Franco and produced at Casteldurante.

In 1545-6 Franco had been commissioned by the Duke of Urbino to paint the vault of the choir of Urbino Cathedral. However, the work disappointed the Duke because it failed to equal the quality of the preparatory drawings. Thinking Franco's skills were better suited to working on a small scale, the Duke commissioned him to make designs for maiolica which was manufactured at Casteldurante.

E.5201-1919