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Hercules and Nessus

before 1584
Not on view
One of the major glyptic artists working in Milan during the second half of the sixteenth century, Fontana engraved exquisitely luminous Late Mannerist scenes from classical mythology and biblical subjects in rock crystal. A casket, set with Fontana's rock-crystal plaques and made for Albrecht V, duke of Bavaria (r. 1550–79), can still to be seen in the Schatzkammer of the Munich Residenz. The Metropolitan Museum's medallion is one of a series of six surviving rock crystals engraved with episodes from the story of Hercules; the medallions were removed from a casket, now destroyed, that once belonged to the Gonzaga duke of Mantua, Vincenzo I (r. 1587–1612). The casket, ornamented with gold and pearls, would have been highly valued as a splendid example of Milanese goldsmiths' work, as well as of intaglio engraving.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Hercules and Nessus
  • Artist: Annibale Fontana (Italian, 1540–1587)
  • Date: before 1584
  • Culture: Italian, Milan
  • Medium: Rock crystal; gold and champlevé enamel frame
  • Dimensions: H. 3-1/16 x W. 4-1/16 in. (7.8 x 10.3 cm)
  • Classification: Natural Substances-Rock Crystal
  • Credit Line: The Friedsam Collection, Bequest of Michael Friedsam, 1931
  • Object Number: 32.100.237
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

More Artwork
Hercules and Acheloüs, Annibale Fontana Italian, Rock crystal; gold and champlevé enamel frame, Italian, Milan
Hercules and Acheloüs
Annibale Fontana
before 1584
Male term figure, Annibale Fontana Italian, Bronze, Italy or France
Male term figure
Said to be by Annibale Fontana
late 17th century
Cuirassier Armor, Steel, gold, leather, textile, Italian, Milan or Brescia
Cuirassier Armor
Italian, Milan or Brescia
ca. 1610–30
The Abduction of Dejanira, Annibale Fontana Italian, Bronze, Italian, Milan
The Abduction of Dejanira
Annibale Fontana
16th century
Manuscript Illumination with the Virgin and Child in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary, Master of the Franciscan Breviary Italian, Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment, Italian
Manuscript Illumination with the Virgin and Child in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary
Master of the Franciscan Breviary
mid-15th century

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