03 — ARTWORK
Hercules and Cacus
- MEDIUM
- Marble, height 505 cm
- TYPE
- Mythological
PALETTE
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- FILE
- 900 × 1235 px · JPEG
COMMENTARY
UNDERLINED TERMS ARE DEFINED IN THE GLOSSARY.
The genesis of Hercules and Cacus dates to 1508 when a marbleloosely applied to any hard limestone that can be sawn into thin slabs and will take a good polish so that it is suitable for decorative work; more strictly, it refers to metamorphosed limestones whose structure has been recrystallized by heat or pressure. Marbles are widely disseminated and occur in a great variety of colours and patterns, but certain types have been particularly prized by sculptors. The most famous of Greek white marbles in the ancient world was the close-grained Pentelic, which was quarried at Mount Pentelicon in Attica. The Elgin Marbles are carved in Pentelic. Widely used also were the somewhat coarser-grained translucent white marbles from the Aegean islands of Paros and Naxos. Parian marble was used for the celebrated Mausoleum at Halicarnassus. The pure white Carrara marble, quarried at Massa, Carrara, and Pietra Santa in Tuscany from the 3rd century BC, is the most famous of all sculptors' stones. It was used for the Apollo Belvedere, and was much favoured in the Renaissance, particularly by Michelangelo, who often visited the quarries to select material for his work. Neoclassical sculptors also favoured Carrara marble because of its ability to take a smooth, sleek surface, but it can look rather 'dead' compared with some of the finest Greek marbles. block was ordered for Michelangelo to carve as a counterpart to the David. However, the marble was not delivered until 1525 and was given to Bandinelli as Michelangelo was working on the Medici Chapela small separate place for worship, either part of a large church or a separate building.. His first model was incompatible with the block but he continued on the project through the 1527 expulsion of the Medici. In 1528, with the republicans in control, Michelangelo was given the block for a Samson and Philistine but after the Medici return in 1530 he was instructed to resume work in the chapel and Bandinelli to continue the Hercules and Cacus. After seeing it installed as a pendantOne of a pair of related art works, or related elements within an art work. to the David in the vast Piazza, Bandinelli concluded that the muscles were "too sweet" and further exaggerated it.
The basic theme of victor over vanquished seems forced and devoid of tension in comparison to Michelangelo's Victory. In trying to outdo the David, it is rigidly posed and the facial grimaces are like deeply drilled caricatures.
CITE THIS RECORD — BIBTEX
@online{wga-r03b7d27ede68e1,
author = {Krén, Emil and Marx, Daniel},
title = {Hercules and Cacus by BANDINELLI, Baccio},
organization = {{Web Gallery of Art}},
date = {2026-09-13},
url = {https://beta.wga.hu/artists/bandinelli-baccio-r9e6df17c8c99e1/hercules-and-cacus-r03b7d27ede68e1},
urldate = {2026-09-13},
langid = {english}
}ACCESSED 2026-09-13. REPLACE THE AUTHOR FIELD WITH THE COMMENTARY AUTHOR WHERE ONE IS NAMED.
