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Abraham Jansz. van Diepenbeeck

Study for the Death of Hercules, 1630s

Now On View

Description

Maker

Title

Study for the Death of Hercules

Year

1630s

Medium

Black chalk, brush and ink, and white lead heightening on laid paper, incised for transfer

Materials/Techniques

Materials

Supports

Dimensions

24.1 x 18.1 cm (9 1/2 x 7 1/8 inches)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

On Verso

Lugt 2631 – Collection of Willem Issack Hooft (1782-1863), Amsterdam.

Lugt 2053d – RISD Museum Collection Stamp

Type

Credit

Gift of Mrs. Gustav Radeke

Object Number

20.433

Projects & Publications

Publications

Exhibition History

Exhibition History

Drawing Closer

March 12 - September 4, 2022

Tricked into wearing a poisoned robe, the Greek hero Hercules throws himself onto a pyre to end his torment. After his grisly death, depicted in the lower half of the sheet, he ascends to Mount Olympus to join the other gods, as seen at the top of the drawing. The indentations around the figures indicate that they were traced with a stylus to transfer the composition to a copper plate. This carefully finished preparatory design was commissioned to illustrate a publication that interpreted this pagan myth as a prefiguring of Christian salvation.

From Dürer to Van Gogh

June 5 - October 26, 2008

Divided into two sections, this drawing features the ancient Greek hero Hercules laid on a funeral pyre below a representation of his apotheosis on Olympus. The Death of Hercules was the preparatory drawing for an engraving made to illustrate Michel de Marolles’s Tableaux du Temple des Muses (Pictures of the Temple of Muses), Paris, 1655. The drawing is incised for transfer to the copperplate. Van Diepenbeeck provides linear definition, especially on the body of Hercules, to give the engraver vital information while at the same time creating a painterly atmosphere and range of tones.

Use

The images on this website can enable discovery and collaboration and support new scholarship, and we encourage their use. This object is in the public domain (CC0 1.0). This object is Study for the Death of Hercules with the accession number of 20.433. To request high-resolution files or new photography, please send an email to imagerequest@risd.edu and include your name and the object's accession number.