PIERO DELLA FRANCESCA
(b. 1416, Borgo San Sepolcro, d. 1492, Borgo San Sepolcro)

Hercules

c. 1465
Fresco, 151 x 126 cm
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston

Towards the middle of the 1460s, Piero painted for Borgo San Sepolcro the fresco of Hercules, later removed and now in Boston. It was probably originally part of a series of mythological characters or famous men. The tall, strong figure of Hercules, which could have lent itself to the imitation of examples from classical art, is totally unrelated to the sculptures from classical antiquity that Piero had become acquainted with in particular during his stay in Rome.