Artwork
Hercules and the Hydra
Hercules and the Hydra is a tempera painting by the Early Renaissance artist Antonio del Pollaiuolo. It dates from 1475 and is held in the collection of the Uffizi Gallery.
About this work
Both paintings survive as his only small mythological works and are kept together in the same collection.
Hercules and the Hydra is a tempera painting made around 1475 by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. The work is on a wooden panel and measures just 17 cm by 12 cm, so it is quite small.
It forms a pair with the artist’s other mythological piece, Hercules Slaying Antaeus. Both paintings survive as his only small mythological works and are kept together in the same collection.
If you’re curious to see more, look up the Uffizi Gallery.
Overview
Hercules and the Hydra is a small tempera-on-panel painting created around 1475 by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. It measures 17 cm by 12 cm and is one of the artist's few surviving mythological works.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a scene from mythology, specifically Hercules' battle with the Hydra. It is paired with another work by the same artist, Hercules Slaying Antaeus, suggesting a thematic connection between the two.
Technique & Style
Executed in tempera grassa on a wooden panel, the work showcases Pollaiuolo's skill in this medium. The small scale of the painting is characteristic of his mythological works.
History & Provenance
Both Hercules and the Hydra and Hercules Slaying Antaeus are now housed in the Galleria degli Uffizi in Florence, where they remain together as a pair.
Artist & collection
Artist
Antonio del Pollaiuolo (UK: POL-eye-WOH-loh, US: POHL-, Italian: ; 17 January 1429/1433 – 4 February 1498), also known as Antonio di Jacopo Pollaiuolo or Antonio Pollaiuolo (also spelled Pollaiolo), was an Italian…
