CYCLE OF THE WORKS OF HERCULUS The Lion of Nemea;... Lot 9

CYCLE OF THE WORKS OF HERCULUS The Lion of Nemea; the Boar of Erymanthe Flanders (Brussels?), mid-sixteenth century Wool In its old state 353 x 289 cm PROVENANCE Former collection of a Bordeaux chateau Acquired from the previous, private collection, southwestern France Our large tapestry presents a rare narrative composition on the theme of the Labors of Hercules, within a border adorned with deities at the four corners and in the middle of each side. The colors are still fresh, the reds have remained vivid. In the side margins, canephorus putti complete the decoration, while the upper and lower margins show gardens populated by satyrs. In the foreground, in a green landscape, we recognize the young hero armed with his club, fighting the Lion of Nemea. At his feet, the curious detail of a lamb lying on a spear draws attention to another scene in the background. In the middle of a flock of sheep, Hercules, with a spear, is holding the monstrous Boar of Erymanthe at bay. At the request of his cousin Eurystheus, Hercules performed twelve feats, the famous Twelve Labors, two of which are represented here. The Lion is a monster raised by Hera who ravaged the region of Nemea, devouring the inhabitants and their flocks. Hercules went hunting against him. Leaving his bow and arrows, he threatened him with his club. This first work was a success. He kept the monster's skin, which neither iron nor fire could break. The third job was to capture alive another monster, a boar that lived on the Erymanthe and was killing the local population. Our artist did not retain the extreme climatic conditions of the episode where Hercules forced the animal out of its crib and then pushed it into the deep snow that covered the country and thus drove it to exhaustion. Our tapestry differs from other Renaissance tapestries, designed around the same theme, where the hero is usually represented asphyxiating the Lion of Nemea. A Brussels tapestry of 1530 shows like here a narrative composition (fig. 1). It is organized around all the stages of this episode, whereas ours places this founding episode in the context of the cycle of the Twelve Labors. The border, between two braided friezes of foliage and flowers, can be compared to Brussels creations of the mid-sixteenth century, such as the one from the workshop of Corneille de Ronde, preserved in Madrid, which presents the same type of allegorical figures placed under fancy architectures in very vegetal backgrounds (fig. 2).