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Statuette of Hercules Capturing the Ceryneian Hind

A white marble sculpture of a young man's muscular torso and legs, the left knee bent and right leg straight, as if the figure were leaning on its knee. It is missing a head, arms, and the lowermost portion of the left leg. The stone is lightly marbled in brown on the right leg.

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  • A white marble sculpture of a young man's muscular torso and legs, the left knee bent and right leg straight, as if the figure were leaning on its knee. It is missing a head, arms, and the lowermost portion of the left leg. The stone is lightly marbled in brown on the right leg.

Date:

1st–2nd century

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

This statuette of Hercules was once part of a larger sculp-tural group that depicted the hero completing one of his Twelve Labors, tasks he was assigned in order to atone for killing his wife and children. For the third labor, Hercules chased a mythical female deer known as the Ceryneian hind for an entire year before subduing it. This statuette depicts the moment after the hero has caught the exhausted animal, which he restrains with his bent left knee. The musculature of Hercules’s torso is sharply flexed as he twists to the side, suggesting the physical effort necessary to overpower the creature.

Status

On View, Gallery 150

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Title

Statuette of Hercules Capturing the Ceryneian Hind

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

49 × 29 × 16 cm (19 5/16 × 11 7/16 × 6 5/16 in.)

Credit Line

Katherine K. Adler Memorial Endowment Fund

Reference Number

2023.3050

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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