Hercules thumbnail 1
Hercules thumbnail 2
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images
On display
Image of Gallery in South Kensington

Hercules

Bust
1640-1650 (made)
Artist/Maker
Faydherbe, Lucas (maker)
Place of origin
Mechelen (made)

Busts of figures from the classical past were eminently suitable furnishings for a cabinet display. The artist, Lucas Faydherbe, was deeply influenced by the painter Rubens during the early part of his career, and this is clearly reflected in the composition and tone of this work. The attribution to Faydherbe derives from a comparison with a signed bust of Omphale in the Municipal Museum at Malines in Belgium, which also owns another version of the composition used here.

Object details

Categories
Sculpture
Myths & Legends
Object type
Bust
TitleHercules (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Terracotta
Terracotta
Brief description
Terracotta bust of Hercules, by Lucas Faydherbe, Flemish, 17th century
Physical description
Hercules, bust in terracotta. The Hero looks to the right, his bearded head covered with a lion mask; the skin is brought across the body and over the right shoulder which is covered by one paw and the curls of the mane.
Dimensions
  • Height: 89cm
  • Width: 68cm
  • Depth: 28cm
  • Base width: 23cm
  • Base depth: 21cm
Measured by Glyn Davies and Lois Salter on 8th October 2012.
Gallery label
HERCULES South Netherlandish (Malines); about 1640-1650 Terracotta By Lucas Faydherbe Given by Dr. W L Hildburgh This bust is identical to one in the Municipal Museum in Malines, which was acquired in 1840 from a descendant of Faydherbe. A companion bust of Omphale in the same museum is signed: FAYDH. This bust and the one of Omphale now in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, are probably contemporary versions from the workshop of the sculptor. Faydherbe was deeply influenced by the painter Peter Paul Rubens (1577-1640) during the early part of his career and the bust, which demonstrates this influence, probably dates from between 1640 and 1650. (1993 - 2011)
Credit line
Given by Dr W. L. Hildburgh.
Object history
Given by Dr W. L Hildburgh, F.S.A.
Subject depicted
Hercules
Summary
Busts of figures from the classical past were eminently suitable furnishings for a cabinet display. The artist, Lucas Faydherbe, was deeply influenced by the painter Rubens during the early part of his career, and this is clearly reflected in the composition and tone of this work. The attribution to Faydherbe derives from a comparison with a signed bust of Omphale in the Municipal Museum at Malines in Belgium, which also owns another version of the composition used here.
Bibliographic references
  • Molesworth, H.D. Baroque, Rococo & neo Classical Sculpture. London. 1954. p.vi. pl.8.
  • Jaffé, M. 'Contributions to Lucas Faydherbe (1617-1697)' in Antologia di Belle Arti La Scultura. Turin. Studi in Onore di Andrew S. Ciechanowiecki. 1994. pp.53-8.
  • Penny, N. Catalogue of European Sculpture in the Ashmolean Museum. II. Oxford. 1992. p. 127.
  • La Sculpture au siècle de Rubens. Musée d'Art Ancien. Bruxelles. 1977
  • Lock, Léon, E. 'Lucas Faydherbe in mechelen' The Sculpture Journal. Vol. II. 1998. pp.130-134.
  • Allard, D, ed. Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century Terracottas: The Van Hesck Collection. Antwerp. 1999. p.58. no. 7.
  • Ducos, Blaise, ed., L’Europe de Rubens. Paris, 2013
Collection
Sculpture Collection
Accession number
A.17-1933

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Record createdJune 24, 2009
Record URL
https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O312073/hercules-bust-faydherbe-lucas/
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