Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra
| Support Type: | Canvas |
| Paint Type: | Oil Paint |
| Current Location: | Art Institute of Chicago |
| Location History: | Paris, Salon, 1876, cat. 1505. Paris, Exposition Universelle Internationale, 1878, Groupe I, Classe I, cat. 656. Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, Gustave Moreau, 1906, cat. 75. Lawrence University of Kansas, Profiles and Perspectives in 19th Century French Art, January 14-February 26, 1958, cat. 18. New York, The Museum of Modern Art, Odilon Redon-Gustave Moreau-Rodolphe Bresdin, December 4, 1961-February 4, 1962, cat. 178 (ill.), travelled to The Art Institute of Chicago, March 2-April 15, 1962. The Minneapolis Institute of Arts, The Past Rediscovered: French 19th Century Painting, July 1-September 1969, cat. 62. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Gustave Moreau, July 23-September 1, 1974, cat. 50 (ill.), Travelled to San Francisco, Palace of the Legion of Honour, September 14-November 11, 1974. Kunsthaus Zürich, Gustave Moreau Symboliste, March 14-May 25, 1986, cat. 45 (ill.). Florence,Palazzo Vecchio, Gustave Moreau, 1826-1898, 1989, cat. 22 (ill.), traveled to Ferrara, Galleria civica d’Arte moderna, Palazzo dei Diamanti, 1989. Heerlen, Stadsfalerij, Gustave Moreau, 1991, no cat. no. Mexico City, Centro Cultural/Arte Contemporáneo, Gustave Moreau sur legado, 1994-95, no cat. no. Tokyo, National Museum of Western Art, Gustave Moreau, March 21-May 14, 1995, cat. 23 (ill.), travelled to Kyoto, National Museum of Modern Art, May 23-July 9. Rome, Accademia di Francia a Roma, Villa Medici, Gustave Moreau e l’Italia, 1996, no cat. no. Paris, Galeries nationales du Grand Palais, Gustave Moreau, 1998-1999, cat. 58 (ill.), travelled to The Art Institute of Chicago, October-April 1999 and New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, June 1999-September 1999. |
The sun sets in a still sea, but the serene picture is instantly transformed into a dark, stormy sky above. The sky shifts slightly to open the clear sky and emit some light on the Hercules, making him close and stand out in an otherwise dark scene. He wears a laurel leaf on his head, showcasing the notion of sun, victory and the god of archery: Apollo. Hercules holds a bow and arrow, and wears the skin of the Nemean Lion, from the first labour out of the 12 labours of Hercules, to gain atonement for murdering his children and wife. He looks determined and cold, like the water around him, holding a dangerous stillness, as he faces the Hydra that is twice his size. Unlike Hercules, the Hydra is a pure incarnation of evil. Dark, black and red: blood and skin fall off its vipers. Surrounding the Hydra are corpses of the dead, who once tried and failed. Its habitat is rocky, eroded and jagged rocks. On Hercules’s side, the same appears, but it’s hidden beneath the trees and vines. Moreau is known for using this good vs. evil duality a lot in his paintings. Here we see this to be an honoured, good man trying to gain atonement for sins he never meant to commit and evil stopping its course and testing him, and challenging him. This is also, according to some texts, this is also seen as a metaphor that happened during the France and Prussia war during 1870-1871. Hercules being France, a noble nation and Prussia being the evil they fight.
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