HeraclesOmphale1.0058b

Giovanni Battista Foggini (1652-1725), attributed previously to an anonymous artist, "Hercules and Iole", alternatively titled "Hercules and Omphale" (17th/18th century) terra cotta relief sculpture, 40 x 30.3 x 8.3 cm (15 3/4 x 11 15/16 x 3 1/4in); Harvard Art Museums/Fogg Museum, Gift of John Coelet, object number 1966.68.

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, this terra-cotta relief is created by an anonymous contemporary. However, that relief tablet may draw its influence directly from the Carracci fresco.

The use of the image at right is meant to comply with the stated allowance that "The Harvard Art Museums encourage the use of images found on this website for personal, noncommercial use, including educational and scholarly purposes."