CORTONA, Pietro da
(b. 1596, Cortona, d. 1669, Roma)

The Punishment of Hercules

c. 1635
Oil on canvas, 300 x 200 cm
Liechtenstein Museum, Vienna

According to Ovid, as punishment for a murder he had committed, Hercules was bound to serve Queen Omphale for a year, wearing women's clothes and doing women's work. The picture shows the moment when Hercules is disarmed. The depiction of Hercules shows the effects of Pietro's studies of ancient sculptures in Rome.