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Preview image of work. pen and brown ink, brown wash, black chalk on paper,  The Choice of Hercules 62
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1811.62

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The Choice of Hercules

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Artist

Taddeo Zuccaro (Vado Ligure, Italy, 1529 - 1566, Rome, Italy)

Title

The Choice of Hercules

Creation Date

ca. 1543-1566

Century

16th century

Dimensions

9 in. x 7 9/16 in. (22.9 cm. x 19.2 cm.)

Object Type

drawing

Creation Place

Europe, Italy

Medium and Support

pen and brown ink, brown wash, black chalk on paper

Credit Line

Bequest of the Honorable James Bowdoin III

Copyright

Public Domain

Accession Number

1811.62

Long considered to be the work of Federico Zuccaro (1540/41--1609), this drawing is now attributed to his brother, Taddeo, and might have served as a study for a fresco in the Loggia of the Belvedere in the Vatican, mentioned by his biographer Giorgio Vasari (1511--1574). The fresco of the Labors of Hercules was destroyed under Pope Paul IV. In the drawing, Taddeo shows a young man in deep contemplation, confronted with two women between whom he is forced to choose. Most likely this is a representation of Hercules deciding between Virtue, who gestures toward reason, and Vice, who tempts the lad with her sensual appeal. For Federico and Taddeo Zuccaro, the art of drawing became a matter of inspiration and aesthetic judgment as much as a demonstration of knowledge in anatomy, classical literature, and technical skills. This image reflects this new appreciation of the conceptual underpinnings of drawing, the “disegno.”

Keywords: nude(s)   work on paper   master drawing   mythological