The Apotheosis of Hercules
Benvenuto Tisi, called "Il Garofalo" (1481–1559)
Late 1530s
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During the second half of the fifteenth century and the first half of the sixteenth, the highly distinctive local school of painting in Ferrara enjoyed a golden age. Both Garofalo and his arguably even more gifted rival, Dosso Dossi, absorbed the lessons of their Venetian and Roman contemporaries and succeeded in creating their own intensely personal and highly recognisable styles of painting.
The precise history of the present work is not fully known, but its subject matter confirms that it must have been painted for Duke Ercole (i.e. Hercules) II d’Este of Ferrara, perhaps also in memory of his father, Ercole I, who reigned from 1505 to 1533. It is not documented until 1663, by which time it had reached Modena, another Este dependency, but it seems clear that it was associated from the outset with two other paintings by Garofalo, a ‘Triumph of Bacchus’ and a ‘Calumny of Apelles’, both of which were executed in the early 1540s and were based upon drawings by Raphael or his pupils. The figure style and above all the facial types of the Hercules reveal a similar dependence, in this instance from lost designs by Raphael’s artistic and actual heir, Giulio Romano (1499–1546), who was the court artist in nearby Ferrara. Two drawings in the Louvre and the Uffizi are copies of Giulio’s overall design, while a third but autograph sheet in the National Gallery of Art in Washington is a study for the river god at the base of the composition.
Following the account in Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses’, Hercules with his club and lion skin is shown being raised up to the four-horse chariot by his father, Jupiter, while the lamenting figure with Hercules’ bow and quiver is Philoctetes, who was commanded by the dying hero to light the funeral pyre. The other details of the presentation are not from Ovid, but plainly Hercules is being crowned with a wreath of leaves by Mercury, while Fame with her trumpet hovers nearby, and a river god and a nymph, accompanied by a cherub with a blank tablet, recline in the foreground. Since the townscape beyond is a portrait of Ferrara, the river must be the Po, in classical times known as the Eridanus. Finally, the female figure between Mercury and Jupiter proffering a bowl must presumably be Lethe, the personification of Forgetfulness.
- Material/technique
- oil on canvas
- Measurements
- 86 × 116 cm
- Acquisition
- acquired in 2004 by Prince Hans-Adam II von und zu Liechtenstein
- Artists/makers/authors
- Benvenuto Tisi, called "Il Garofalo"
- Inventory number
- GE 2136
- Provenance
-
probably executed for Ercole II d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, Modena
and Reggio (1508-1559); Johann Hugo II von Hagen zur Motten, Vienna; before 1818 Anton Georg Graf Apponyi, Vienna; before 1823 private collection, Vienna; since 1823 private collection, Northern Europe; acquired from Beddington
& Blackman Ltd, London
- Iconography
- Apotheosis of Hercules
Johann Kräftner, Ausst.-Kat. Neoclassicismo e Biedermeier, Wien 2004, S. 68, Abb. S. 46-47, Kat. I.3
Ausst.-Kat. Neoclassicism and Biedermeier. Liechtenstein Museum Vienna, Stefan Körner, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 29.3.2004–7.11.2004, erschienen München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, S. 68, Abb. S. 46-47, Kat. I.3
Johann Kräftner, Andrea Stockhammer, Liechtenstein Museum Wien. Le Collezioni, München 2004, Abb. S. 14
Johann Kräftner, Andrea Stockhammer, Liechtenstein Museum Vienna. The Collections, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, Abb. S. 14
Ausst.-Kat. Klassizismus und Biedermeier. Liechtenstein Museum Wien, Stefan Körner, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 29.3.2004–7.11.2004, erschienen München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, S. 68, Abb. S. 46-47, Kat. I.3
Johann Kräftner, Andrea Stockhammer, Liechtenstein Museum Wien. Die Sammlungen, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), München–Berlin–London–New York 2004, Abb. S. 14
Ausst.-Kat. I Principi e le Arti. Dipinti e sculture dalle Collezioni Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner, Reinhold Baumstark, Maraike Bückling, Guy C. Bauman, Keith Christiansen, u.a., Lavinia M. Galli Michero (Hg.), Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Mailand 28.9.2006–17.12.2006, erschienen Mailand 2007, S. 34-35, Abb. 35, Kat. 3
Ausst.-Kat. The Princes and the Arts. Paintings and Sculptures from the Liechtenstein Collections, Johann Kräftner, Reinhold Baumstark, Maraike Bückling, Guy C. Bauman, Keith Christiansen, Fernando Mazzoca u.a., Lavinia M. Galli Michero (Hg.), Museo Poldi Pezzoli, Milan 28.9.2006–17.12.2006, erschienen Milano 2007, S. 34-35, Abb. 35, Kat. 3
Ausst.-Kat. Garofalo. Pittore della Ferrara Estense, Tatiana Kustodieva, Mauro Lucco (Hg.), erschienen Ferrara-Mailand 2008, S. 170, Abb. 111, Kat. 50
Ausst.-Kat. Der Blick in die Ferne. Landschaftsmalerei aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von und zu Liechtenstein. 15. bis 19. Jahrhundert, Johann Kräftner, Alexandra Hanzl, Kathrine Klopf-Weiss, Liechtenstein Museum (Hg.), Kunstmuseum, Luzern, 9.8.2008–5.10.2008, erschienen Wien 2008, S. 27, Abb. S. 26 Nr. 25, Detail
Ausst.-Kat. Das Glück dieser Erde... Pferde als höfisches Motiv der Kunstgeschichte. Aus den Sammlungen des Fürsten von und zu Liechtenstein, Kathrine Klopf-Weiss, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, Vaduz 6.3.2009–18.10.2009, erschienen Wien–Vaduz 2009, Kat. 50
Ausst.-Kat. Der Fürst als Sammler. Neuerwerbungen unter Hans-Adam II. von und zu Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), Liechtenstein Museum, Wien 12.2.2010–24.8.2010, erschienen Wien 2010, Abb. S. 210, S. 211
Ausst.-Kat. Masterworks from the Collections of the Prince of Liechtenstein, Johann Kräftner (Hg.), The National Art Center, Tokyo 3.10.2012–23.12.2012; The Museum of Art, Kochi 5.1.2013–7.3.2013; Municipal Museum of Art, Kyoto 19.3.2013–9.6.2013, erschienen Tokyo 2012
Ausst.-Kat. Princely Treasures from the House of Liechtenstein, National Museum of Singapore, Singapore 27.6.2013–29.9.2013, erschienen Singapore 2013, S. 68, Abb. 68/69, Kat. 20
Johann Kräftner, Die Schätze der Liechtenstein. Paläste, Gemälde, Skulpturen, Wien 2013, Abb. S. 166/167
Johann Kräftner, The Treasures of the Liechtensteins. Palaces, Paintings, Sculptures, Vienna 2013
Ausst.-Kat. Splendori delle corti italiane. Gli Este. Rinascimento e Barocco a Ferrara e Modena, Stefano Casciu, Marcello Toffanello (Hg.), Reggia di Venaria, Venaria Reale 8.3.2014–6.7.2014, erschienen Modena 2014, S. 144–145, Kat.-Nr. 24
Ausst.-Kat. Rubens and Other Masters. Paintings, Sculptures and Objects of the Prince of Liechtenstein, National Museum of Korea, Seoul 12.12.2015–10.4.2016, erschienen Seoul 2015, S. 228, Kat.-Nr. 44
Ausst.-Kat. A Jewel Box from Europe. Treasures from the collections of the Prince of LIECHTENSTEIN, TNC Procect (Hg.), Prefectural Art Museum, Hiroshima 18 September 2020–29 November 2020; The Bunkamura Museum of Art, Tokyo 12 October 2019–23 december 2019; Utsonimiya Museum of Art, Utsunomiya 12 January 2020–24 February 2020; Oita Prefectural Art Museum, Oita 6 March 2020–19 April 2020; Tokyo Fuji Art Museum, Tokyo 2 May 2020–5 July 2020; The Miyagi Museum of Art, Miyagi 14 July 2020–6 September 2020, erschienen Tokyo 2019, Abb. S. 76, S. 215–216, Kat.-Nr. 35
Michele Danieli, A Ferrara, trav1496 3 1534, in: Ausst.-Kat.Il Cinquecento a Ferrara. Mazzolino, Ortolano, Garofalo, Dosso, Vittorio Sgarbi, Michele Danieli (Hg.), Palazzo dei Diamanti, Ferrara 12.10.2024–16.2.2025, Cinisello Balsamo 2024, S. 28–44, S. 42, Abb. 13, S. 43
