AnticoItalian, 1460–1528Hercules and the Hydra
Can I see it?
Not on view at present
Where is “Hercules and the Hydra” now? Collection: Victoria and Albert Museum, London. Not on view at present. Checked September 25, 2026.
London, United Kingdom
It belongs to the collection, but is not on display at present.
- Checked
- In this state since
- Source
- The museum
About the sculpture
This relief in bronze of Hercules and the Hydra is made by Pier Jacopo Alari Bonacolso, called Antico, in the late 15th or early 16th century. It has though recently been suggested that is might be a fake (together with A.1-1959), executed by Salomon Weininger.
The relief corresponds with a relief in the Museo Nazionale, Florence, from which it differs in the absence of gilding in certain areas and in details of chasing in the heads of the snakes and elsewhere.
The legend of Hercules and the Hydra reflects Hercules’ second labour set to him by Eurystheus, where he had to kill Hydra, the many headed snake in Greek mythology.
Victoria and Albert Museum
Details
- Accession number
- A.2-1959
What it shows
In the catalog
Sources
- Victoria and Albert Museum
- Image: Victoria and Albert Museum — © Victoria and Albert Museum, London
![Blue Club [working proof 8], Richard Diebenkorn, 1981](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/ca004a41-d32e-4561-9425-2045d02033f4/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
![Blue Club [working proof 7], Richard Diebenkorn, 1981](https://api.nga.gov/iiif/f21849ef-d631-4ceb-b579-d8c665572d01/full/!2400,2400/0/default.jpg)
