Giorgio Ghisi, Giovanni Battista Bertani
Hercules Victorious over the Hydra
1557
Scroll
Giorgio Ghisi, Giovanni Battista Bertani
Hercules Victorious over the Hydra
1557
Physical Qualities
Engraving and stipple, Sheet: 365 x 228 mm. (14 3/8 x 9 in.)
Plate: 345 x 208 mm. (13 9/16 x 8 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Garrett Collection
Object Number
1946.112.11913
Giorgio Ghisi uses several creative tricks to enhance the illusion of sculptural volume in this image. Strong frontal lighting emphasizes the musculature of the mythic Hercules, whose massive form bursts out of the niche behind him. The many-headed Hydra,
freshly decapitated by Hercules, falls out of the ornamental frame and even the edge of the print itself (at lower right), forcefully suggesting three dimensions within the limits of a flat surface.
Printed Sculpture/Sculpted Prints
The Illustrated Bartsch. Ed. Walter L. Strauss. New York, 1978-present.
Inscribed: center left in plate: ".I. / .B.B. / .I.N. / .V."; center right in plate: "D / EOR / GIV. / GHISI / MANT / VAN"; by later hand, lower left in brown ink: "N. 3-c. f."
Markings: CM: Claghorn