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Medallion with Hercules Strangling Serpents
(Renaissance Europe )
Even as a baby, Hercules demonstrated his superhuman strength, when he strangled two serpents sent by the goddess Juno to kill him.
Prints based on compositions by Italian painters were used by French artists as sources for mythological imagery and as stylistic models reflecting the ancient Greco-Roman sculpture with which Italian artists were more familiar. Here, Limosin used an engraving after a drawing by Giulio Romano. The gray monochrome, or "grisaille," favored by Limosin imitates the appearance of ancient sculpture.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Charles Mannheim [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; J. Pierpont Morgan, New York, [date and mode of acquisition unknown] no. 893; Arnold Seligmann, Rey, & Co., New York [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, 1919, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 1914 | Metropolitan Museum, New York, 1914. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 1/4/1955 | Treatment | coated; cleaned |
| 5/20/1965 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 2/9/1966 | Treatment | repaired |
| 11/17/1987 | Treatment | cleaned; examined for condition |
| 6/15/1995 | Loan Consideration | examined for loan |
Geographies
France, Limoges (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 11 7/8 x W: 10 3/4 in. (30.1 x 27.3 cm); Diam without frame: 10 1/4 in. (26.1 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1919
Location in Museum
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
44.212