HeraclesOmphale1.0058

Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), attributed to; also attributed to Laurent Delvaux or Pierre Puget, "Hercules and Iole" (ca. 1691-1701) bronze statuette created and originally cast at Florence.

Foggini in this statuette reflects the influence of Annibale Carracci's ceiling fresco in the Villa Farnesiana in Rome 1.0017_Carracci,

The queen of Lydia, Omphale, has purchased Hercules, whose thralldom to her will expiate his murder of Iole's brother Iphitus. In this bronze adaptation of the myth, Foggini equips the nude Omphale with the hero's attributes — the club and the Nemean Lion's hide — while Hercules holds the (here missing) implements for wool production. Their nudity is certainly erotic, not heroic.

According to Reid, a terra-cotta relief by an anonymous contemporary (1.0058b_Foggini) renders Foggini's' couple's interaction in a (largely) 2-D adaptation. However, that relief tablet may draw its influence directly from the Carracci fresco.

The images at right are derived (above) from the Victoria & Albert Museum's catalog and (below) from their photographic archive.