Hercules and Antaeus thumbnail 1
Hercules and Antaeus thumbnail 2
+44
images
Image of Gallery in South Kensington
Not currently on display at the V&A
On short term loan out for exhibition

This object consists of 2 parts, some of which may be located elsewhere.

Hercules and Antaeus

Figure Group
1500-1510 (made)
Artist/Maker
Antico (sculptor)
Place of origin
Mantua (made)

Antico was court sculptor to the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua. He trained as a goldsmith and developed a sophisticated method of reproducing bronzes. As his name suggests, Antico was inspired by works from antiquity. He based this group on a classical marble of Hercules and Antaeus now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence.


Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Access_to_Images 2003
Myths & Legends
SCRAN
Object type
Figure group
Parts
This object consists of 2 parts.

  • Statuette
  • Base
TitleHercules and Antaeus (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Bronze, with silver gilding in the eyes
Bronze
Silver
Gilding
Brief description
Group, bronze, Hercules and Antaeus, by Antico, Italy (Mantua), 1500-1510
Physical description
Hercules and Antaeus, bronze figure group. The eyes of both figures are inlaid with silver. The group is fixed to an original oval bronze base without mouldings. The bearded figure of Hercules holds the younger Antaeus aloft.
Dimensions
  • Height: 40.8cm
  • Figure only height: 39.1cm
  • Weight: 6.480kg
  • Width: 22cm
  • Depth: 14.1cm
Measured for the Medieval and Renaissance Galleries
Credit line
Bequeathed by Dr W. L. Hildburgh, FSA
Object history
Given by Dr. W. L. Hildburgh, F. S. A., 1956.

Historical significance: The model derives from the classical marble of Hercules and Antaeus which is today in the courtyard of the Palazzo Pitti in Florence presented to Cosimo I by Pius IV in 1560. Before this it had been in Rome in the Belvedere, where it was installed by Julius II. Although its date of discovery is not known before 1474 to Mantegna, who adapted it for a scene on the vault of the Caniera degli Sposi, completed in that year.
Subjects depicted
Hercules
Antaeus
Summary
Antico was court sculptor to the Gonzaga family, rulers of Mantua. He trained as a goldsmith and developed a sophisticated method of reproducing bronzes. As his name suggests, Antico was inspired by works from antiquity. He based this group on a classical marble of Hercules and Antaeus now in the Palazzo Pitti, Florence.
Bibliographic references
  • Bober, P. P. and Rubinstein, R. O. Renaissance Artists and Antique Sculpture, a Handbook of Sources. Oxford, 1986, p. 173
  • Ettlinger, Leopold, D. Antonio and Piero Pollaiuolo. Oxford, 1978, p. 147, cat. 13, fig. 20
  • Howarth, D. 'Charles I, Sculpture and Sculptor's'. In: A. MacGregor (ed.), The Late King's Goods, Oxford University Press, London & Oxford, no. 3, p. 98, fig 48
  • Trusted, Marjorie, ed. The Making of Sculpture. The Materials and Techniques of European Sculpture. London: 2007, p. 55, pl. 89, 90
  • Blume, Dieter, 'Anticos Antike', in: Städel-Jahrbuch, vol. II, 1987, pp. 179-204, esp. pp. 191-193
  • Luciano, Eleanora (ed.) in collaboration with Denise Allen and Claudia Kryza-Gersch, Antico. The Golden Age of Renaissance Bronzes, (exh. cat. National Gallery of Art Washington 6 November 2011-8 April 2012; The Frick Collection, New York, 1 May-29 July 2012) London: Paul Holberton Publishing, 2011, inc. pl.43
  • Ferino-Pagden, Sylvia, Isabella D'Este: Fürstin und Mäzenatin der Renaissance, Vienna: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1994, cat. 106
  • Chambers, David and Martineau, Jane (eds.), Splendours of the Gonzaga : Catalogue, London : Victoria and Albert Museum, 1981, cat. 55.
  • Trevisani, Filippo and Gasparotto, Davide (eds.), Bonacolsi l'Antico: uno scultore nella Mantova di Andrea Mantegna e di Isabella d'Este, Milano : Electa, 2008, cat. v.10.
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.37-1956

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Record createdMarch 2, 2004
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O94280/hercules-and-antaeus-figure-group-antico/
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