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Beheading of the rhinoceros
Without title
Untitled
Without title
Without title
Indivisible quartet
Room for voices
Time, mistake, space
Without title
Yellow surface
River bed
A J L B
Without title
Checks. Tribute to Niepce
Amalfi box
Big Black Cretto
Basin
Without title
Shock wave
White gold room
Flagellation of Christ
Judith and Holofernes
Vesuvius
Portrait of Paul III with his grandchildren
Danae
Portrait of a young woman called Antea
The Parable of the Blind
Atalante by Ippomena
Transfiguration of Christ
Madonna and Child with Angels
Crib group with the Nativity
Sant'Agata
Portrait of fra luca Pacioli with a pupil
Hercules at the crossroads
Apollo and Marsyas
Saint Jerome in the study
From Frisio to Santa Lucia or Neapolitan song
Crucifixion
Madonna of the veil
Portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese in armor
Globe
Beheading of the rhinoceros
Without title
Untitled
Without title
Without title
Indivisible quartet
Room for voices
Time, mistake, space
Without title
Yellow surface
River bed
A J L B
Without title
Checks. Tribute to Niepce
Amalfi box
Big Black Cretto
Basin
Without title
Shock wave
White gold room
Flagellation of Christ
Judith and Holofernes
Vesuvius
Portrait of Paul III with his grandchildren
Danae
Portrait of a young woman called Antea
The Parable of the Blind
Atalante by Ippomena
Transfiguration of Christ
Madonna and Child with Angels
Crib group with the Nativity
Sant'Agata
Portrait of fra luca Pacioli with a pupil
Hercules at the crossroads
Apollo and Marsyas
Saint Jerome in the study
From Frisio to Santa Lucia or Neapolitan song
Crucifixion
Madonna of the veil
Portrait of Pier Luigi Farnese in armor

Hercules at the crossroads

Annibale Carracci

Displayed in:

Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

Via Miano, 2, Naples

Closed now: open at 08:30

Verified profile

The classic subject, invented by the sophist Prodico and perhaps suggested by Fulvio Orsini, librarian of the Farnese family, depicts the apparition of two women to the mythical Hercules and his doubt in the choice between one and the other. In fact, Pleasure, the young woman in a succinct and transparent dress, points out to him the flat road between playing cards, masks and musical instruments, while Virtue, the woman dressed in red and blue, points out the steep ascent of a mount which there is winged Pegasus, emblem of the Farnese family, which will lead it to heaven. In the lower left corner the poet immortalizes the hero's deeds, assuring him undying fame. Made in 1596 for Cardinal Odoardo, it was placed in the Farnese palace in the center of the vault of the "camerino di Ercole" decorated with examples of virtues to emulate. Hannibal, still mindful of the Bolognese frescoes of Palazzo Sampieri, appears already intent on combining "idea" and "nature" on the examples of Raphaelesque classicism and antiquity. Both the compositional scheme, taken from a classical relief, and the head of Hercules, taken from that of the Farnese Hercules, at that time still located in the courtyard of the palace, refer to it. Starting from 1662 the canvas, replaced by a copy still in place, underwent various movements and then became part of the "Cabinet of obscene paintings" of the Royal Bourbon Museum.
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Details

Title: Hercules at the crossroads

Author: Annibale Carracci

Date: 1596

Technique: Oil painting on canvas

Displayed in: Capodimonte Museum and Real Wood

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