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Hercules Subduing the Centaurs Gm-37141401

Edme Bouchardon (French, 1698–1762) Wielding his chalk with characteristic grace and precision, Bouchardon carved out his grappling figures from the shadows of an imagined grotto. At center, the hero Hercules--recognizable by a lion's skin worn around his waist and a knotty club in his grasp--straddles one thrashing centaur and prepares to deal the other a mighty blow. Though this scene is fantastical, the straining human and equine anatomy seems observed firsthand. Bold, decisive contour lines enclose each figure, setting the group apart, in crisp relief, from the rapid red chalk hatch-work of the rugged plinth and alcove. These rocky forms and the overturned jar at right confirm that the drawing represents an unrealized design for a grotto fountain. The story of Hercules's battle with the centaurs is usually told in the context of his fourth labor. On his way to Mount Erymanthos, Hercules pays a visit to the cave of his friend the centaur Pholus, whom he persuades to open a jar of wine originally given by Bacchus to all the centaurs. Smelling the wine, Pholus's fellow centaurs arrive to discover Hercules drinking from their jar; failing to understand that wine should be mixed with water, they begin to drink it undiluted and then set upon Hercules in anger. He subdues them with poisoned arrows and eventually continues on his way to kill the Erymanthian boar. Curiously, in Bouchardon's rendition of the scene, Hercules wields not a bow and poisoned arrows but his accustomed club. The artist here apparently sacrificed a certain measure of fidelity to the story in favor of a more thrilling and direct confrontation between the hero and his intoxicated foes, tangled together in a mass of muscle and hair. The cave setting of the story made it ideally suited for depiction in a fountain sculpture; in a witty detail devised by Bouchardon, water would have flowed from the centaurs' supposedly undiluted wine jug at right.

We make each of our prints one at a time—just for you.

Our Giclée Prints are printed here in Switzerland, one at a time, on heavy matte German art paper using the finest 12-color Canon archival inks. Some images are panoramic or tall and narrow—please select the 18" x 36" format for these.

Our Premium Museum Frame in Black is custom-made in Lugano, Switzerland, using natural wood moulding in a matte black satin finish. Each includes thick, hand-cut white mat boards and Plexiglass glazing. We tailor and print each image to fit its specific ratio and dimensions within our custom-made frames. The hand-cut mats are extra thick. Each bespoke museum frame ships in a custom box. Rush shipping is available for projects with tight deadlines—this is our specialty, and you will not be disappointed.

Our Antiqued Museum Frame in Gold is a high-quality frame made of solid wood, featuring traditional 19th-century cast plaster moulded details and closed corners. These frames are works of art in themselves, each with a unique patina. The hand-rubbed corners and gold finish evoke the elegance of times past. Your selected image is printed on German art paper with archival inks and mounted to quality art board within the frame. Plexiglass is added for print protection and the back is covered with Kraft paper and a hanger is supplied ready to hang..

Our Stretched Canvas prints are hand-stretched over 1.25" thick pine bars and printed with archival inks on a cotton-poly matte finish canvas. These are best-in-industry Swiss-quality canvases, hand-coated for UV protection.

Wall Murals are printed on a matte-finish, self-adhesive poly/fabric material that mounts easily and is ideal for smooth wall surfaces.

Our Note Cards are amazing—each is printed individually on 100% cotton art paper, comes with a kraft envelope, and is individually sleeved. (Image is scaled to fit the format.)

All of our images are digitized from the original negative or print and printed by our master printer to museum standards.

Questions? Please email service@archivea.com or call/text +41 79 265 8891.

Artwork in this collection is from The J. Paul Getty Museum. Reproduction rights are reserved by the copyright owner and used under license by Archivea GmbH.

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