Statuette of Hercules (Back)

The hero Hercules leans on his club, exhausted from completing his twelfth and last labor—the quest for the golden apples of the Hesperides, which he holds in his right hand behind his back. His eyes are inlaid with silver. The skin of the Nemean Lion, which cushions his weight on the now-missing club alludes to his first labor. This representation of the hero is referred to as the "Weary Hercules" or the "Farnese" type after the most famous copy, once in the Farnese collection and now in the Museo Nazionale in Naples.

This statuette is a small-scale replica of the life-size bronze statue made in the late fourth century B.C. by the Greek sculptor Lysippos (active about 370-315 B.C.). Lysippos’ sculpture was immensely popular in the Roman world, copied and adapted in every scale from miniature to twice life-size and in many different media. Copies of famous Greek statues were displayed in luxurious Roman villas as an indication of the owner’s refined taste. The Romans took delight in the contrast of the hero's powerful, bulky muscles and his sagging, tired posture. The three-dimensional conception of the statue required that the viewer search for clues to its meaning. From the front, the cause of Herakles' tiredness is not evident. Only from the back can one see that the hero holds the apples of the Hesperides, thereby explaining his exhaustion.