c. 1611
Oil on oak panel, 220 x 220 cm
Gemäldegalerie, Dresden
Rubens decorated the external wall of his studio with several murals in grisaille, which could be interpreted as pictorial reconstructions of famous paintings by such Greek artists as Apelles and Timanthes known only from contemporary written descriptions. It has been established that these grisaille scenes were inspired by the narrative style of classic reliefs. The Drunken Hercules is even a direct adaptation of a now lost Roman relief.
