The Death of Hercules

The Death of Hercules was one of a series of ten paintings, mostly depicting aspects of the stories of Hercules believed to have taken place in the Iberian Peninsula, commissioned from Francisco de Zurbarán for the Hall of Realms at the Palacio del Buen Retiro.^[3] The initial commission was for twelve paintings, corresponding to the canonical twelve Labours of Hercules: this was eventually reduced to ten, and the decision taken to place each picture over one of the hall's ten windows.^[4] Zurbarán, based in Seville, was the only painter from outside Madrid commissioned for the Retiro.^[5] The palace's decoration was supervised by the artist Diego Velázquez;^[6] The Death of Hercules was eventually placed on the south wall,^[7] about 10 feet (3.0 m) above the floor.^[8]

The painting is an oil on canvas and measures 53.5 by 65.75 inches (135.9 by 167.0 cm).^[7] It depicts Hercules trying to remove the poisoned Shirt of Nessus, as flames engulf his body.^[9] In the background can be seen the dying figure of the centaur Nessus, whom Hercules shot with an arrow poisoned with the blood of the Lernaean Hydra.^[10] The choice of stories from the life of Hercules reflected the ideological programme of the Spanish monarchy under Philip IV: Philip was believed to descend from Hercules via both the kings of Castille and the House of Burgundy.^[11] The imagery of Hercules's immolation recalled his apotheosis (ascension into godhood), and therefore implicitly invoked the immortality of the king and the legitimacy of his dynasty.^[8] In contrast to the traditional myth, Hercules is not depicted as burning on the funeral pyre he constructed for himself, though Zaburán follows tradition by placing Hercules's distinctive club at his feet, and by depicting him as a gigantic figure with curled hair.^[7]

Zurbarán was initially commissioned to make the painting, as part of a series of twelve, on 12 June 1634; he received a total of 1100 ducats for the eventual ten paintings, which included payment for two works depicting the defence of Cádiz in 1625.^[7] The Death of Hercules is currently held in the Museo del Prado, Spain's national art museum, in Madrid.^[10]

The painting was modelled on a 1521 woodcut by the French artist Gabriel Salmon.^[12] The figure of Nessus was taken from a 1542 engraving by Sebald Beham.^[13] Zurbarán modified the composition of Salmon's picture by adding colour, and by turning Hercules's body to emphasise his dying gesture and to create greater contrast between the painting's light and dark areas.^[10] Martin S. Soria has written that the "bold three-dimensional thrust of the dying Hercules's right foot" shows inspiration from the work of Caravaggio and his followers, including Jusepe de Ribera.^[14] Soria further suggests that the figure was inspired by a 1525 statue of Jerome by Pietro Torrigiano, in Zaburán's home city of Seville, and by a 1634 painting of the jester Juan de Calabazas by Velázquez: Velázquez was painting the latter work while Zaburán was working on the Hercules series, and communicated with him daily.^[15]