The Triumph of Hercules

Granted immortality by Jupiter, Hercules is carried up to Olympus in a chariot drawn by centaurs. The subjugation of the half-breed creatures in this image may allude to Hercules's successful battle with them, often counted among his labors. A reference to the centaur Nessus, who was responsible for Hercules's death, could also be intended. Beneath the chariot, a cupid holds up the snake that Hercules had strangled in his cradle, while another rides Cerberus, the three-headed hellhound whose capture had been the hero's final labor.

The painting reproduced in this print, now lost, was the only one of a series of four commissioned by the court in Saint Petersburg that was painted by Domenico. The other three were painted by his father, Giambattista, and etched by his brother Lorenzo.