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Hercules and the Erymanthian Boar
Attributed to: Ferdinando Tacca (Italian, 1619–1686)
After: Giambologna (Jean Boulogne) (Flemish (worked in Italy), 1529–1608)
After: Giambologna (Jean Boulogne) (Flemish (worked in Italy), 1529–1608)
Italian (Florence)
mid-17th century
Object Place: Florence, Italy
Medium/Technique
Metal; bronze
Dimensions
Overall: 74.2 cm (29 3/16 in.)
Credit Line
Bequest of William A. Coolidge
Accession Number1993.48
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CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsSculpture
The ancient hero Hercules strides forward, carrying the still-struggling Erymanthean boar over his shoulder. Hercules's powerful musculature and the naturalistic rendering of the beast create a vivid image, animated further by the drapery that billows out behind. The exceptionally fine cast and surface finish, as well as the accomplished distribution of weight through Hercules's open stance, suggest that the sculpture was made by Ferdinando Tacca. Tacca's workshop continued the tradition of virtuoso bronze casting in Florence in the decades after Giambologna's death.
DescriptionHercules carrying the Boar with its head facing backwards, steadying its weight with his right hand on its hind hoof, while his left hand rests on his hip.
ProvenanceDuke Gaetano Saraceni, Rome. Duc de Talleyrand (perhaps Napoleon Louis von Sagan de Talleyrand Perigord, b. 1811 - d. 1898), Paris. 1966, Renato Bacchi, Milan; 1966, sold by Bacchi to Leopold Blumka and Rosenberg and Stiebel, New York; about 1966/1967, sold by Rosenberg and Stiebel to William Appleton Coolidge (b. 1901 - d. 1992), Topsfield and Cambridge, MA; 1993, bequest of William Appleton Coolidge to the MFA. (Accession Date: January 27, 1993)