Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds

Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds
Italian: Ercole uccide gli uccelli di Stinfalo
Artist	Albrecht Dürer[1]
Year	1500[2]
Dimensions	87 cm × 110 cm (34 in × 43 in)
Location	Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nuremberg

Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds is a 1500 tempera on canvas painting by Albrecht Dürer, now kept in the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg.[3]

History

Dürer's only painting of a mythological subject, Hercules Killing the Stymphalian Birds was probably commissioned for Frederick the Wise for a room in the Schloss Wittenberg, which contains other paintings of the Labours of Hercules.

Description and style

Hercules, armed with bow and arrow, is ready to shoot at two winged monsters that appear to his right. He occupies the center of the scene. His composition is probably derived from Italian prints, like Hercules and Deianira by Antonio del Pollaiuolo. Even the landscape in the background follows Italian examples, with its dark palette and brilliant reds representing the deadly swamps of Lake Stymphalia.

The monstrous birds, harpies, probably come from Dante's description of harpies as bizarre hybrid creatures.

See also

• List of paintings by Albrecht Dürer
• Stymphalian birds

References

1. Albrecht Dürer (1974). The Complete Drawings of Albrecht Durer: 1500-1509 / Walter L. Strauss. Abaris Books. ISBN 978-0-913870-00-6.
2. Wilhelm Reinhold Valentiner (1977). The Art Quarterly. Art Studies Inc.
3. Lilian H. Zirpolo (25 October 2007). Historical Dictionary of Renaissance Art. Scarecrow Press. pp. 199–. ISBN 978-0-8108-6424-5.

Bibliography

• Costantino Porcu (edited by), Dürer, Rizzoli, Milan 2004.

External links

• Catalog entry