Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds

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Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds
Italian: Ercole uccide gli uccelli di Stinfalo
ArtistAlbrecht Dürer[1]
Year1500[2]
Dimensions87 cm × 110 cm (34 in × 43 in)
LocationGermanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds is a 1500 tempera on canvas painting by Albrecht Dürer, now kept in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.[3]

History

Dürer's only painting of a mythological subject, Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds was probably commissioned for

Schloss Wittenberg, which contains other paintings of the Labours of Hercules
.

Description and style

Hercules, armed with bow and arrow, is ready to shoot at two winged monsters that appear to his right. He occupies the center of the scene. His composition is probably derived from Italian prints, like Hercules and Deianira by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. Even the landscape in the background follows Italian examples, with its dark palette and brilliant reds representing the deadly swamps of Lake Stymphalia.

The monstrous birds,

harpies, probably come from Dante's
description of harpies as bizarre hybrid creatures.

See also

References

  1. .
  2. ^ Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner (1977). The Art Quarterly. Art Studies Inc.
  3. .

Bibliography

  • Costantino Porcu (edited by), Dürer, Rizzoli, Milan 2004.

External links