Hercules Killing the Mares of Diomedes
1800/05
Medium
Pen and black ink, with brush and black wash, over graphite, on cream laid paper, laid down on ivory laid paper
Dimensions
50.4 × 38.6 cm (19 7/8 × 15 1/4 in.)
Classification
pen and ink drawings
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
84467
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In classical Greek mythology, Hercules is assigned twelve superhuman labors to complete. The eighth of these is to capture the man-eating horses of Diomedes, king of Thrace. In most accounts, Hercules subdues and steals the mares, killing Diomedes and feeding him to his own horses. Fuseli has chosen the less familiar narrative, in which Hercules kills the mares as well. The defeated Diomedes can be seen collapsing on the left. The hero’s young companion, Abderus, killed by the mares, lies on the...
About the Artist
Henry Fuseli · 1741–1825
Henry Fuseli (1741-1825), born Johann Heinrich Füssli in Zürich, was a Swiss-British painter whose visionary works exploring dreams, nightmares, and psychological terror made him one of the most original figures of the Romantic movement. His art bridged Neoclassical discipline with Romantic emotionalism, creating images of supernatural intensity that would influence artists from William Blake to t...