1811.62
The Choice of Hercules
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.”