1517, Jan Gossaert, Hercules and Deianira -- Courtauld Gallery (London) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label:
Jan Gossaert travelled to Italy from the Low Countries in 1508, becoming one of the first Northern artists of the Renaissance to draw directly from antiquity. Upon his return, he created innovative, classically influenced works such as this one. The mythological figures depicted are the Greek hero Hercules and his wife, Deianira. Their love story will come to a tragic end when Hercules is set ablaze by the silver cloak on which Deianira sits, which has been unwittingly poisoned with the blood of his slain enemy.
Overpaint has recently been removed to reveal Gossaert's signature (in Latin), painted to appear as though carved into the stone floor.
1517, Jan Gossaert, Hercules and Deianira -- Courtauld Gallery (London) (special exhibition)
From the exhibition label:
Jan Gossaert travelled to Italy from the Low Countries in 1508, becoming one of the first Northern artists of the Renaissance to draw directly from antiquity. Upon his return, he created innovative, classically influenced works such as this one. The mythological figures depicted are the Greek hero Hercules and his wife, Deianira. Their love story will come to a tragic end when Hercules is set ablaze by the silver cloak on which Deianira sits, which has been unwittingly poisoned with the blood of his slain enemy.
Overpaint has recently been removed to reveal Gossaert's signature (in Latin), painted to appear as though carved into the stone floor.