The labors of Hercules

These two-work paintings of the famous mythological hero are smaller duplicates that belonged to the Gondi family in the early 17th century; They are based on two lost canvases painted by Antonio around 1460 for the Medici and previously exhibited in the large room of their palazzo on Via Larga. The two panels arrived at the Uffizi in 1798; They were lost in the Second World War, recovered in 1975 and displayed in the Gallery. Restored in 1991

Here, too, a fierce struggle is depicted between the hero, his body tensed into a lithe, muscular mass, and the legendary multi-headed monster. The contours are very defined, and the movement of the nerves and tendons is observed down to the last detail. Antonio del Pollaiuolo worked at the time when extensive anatomy studies were being carried out and therefore makes the human body realistic in its moments of greatest emotional excitement.

The dramatic force of the episode is expressed in the hero's grimace of fatigue and horror, but also in his certainty of victory. Behind the proudly barbaric figure, blue rivers wind through a wide landscape of green and brown fields, the sky on a blue glaze.