Hercules between Minerva and Venus

Valerio Belli

Associated Names
Valerio Belli

Artist, Italian, 1468 - 1546

The sculpture is a circular relief medallion featuring three figures. One figure is seated on the left, while the other two are standing, with one holding a staff. The standing figures wear flowing garments. A smaller figure is also visible at the bottom right. The medallion is dark brown with a glossy finish, likely made of bronze. It is intricately detailed with naturalistic features and has a raised border. At the top, there is a hole for hanging, and the word "INSTAR" is inscribed at the bottom. The sculpture is against a black background.

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On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G16

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    bronze//Dark brown patina

  • Credit Line

    Samuel H. Kress Collection

  • Dimensions

    overall (oval): 4.6 x 4.2 cm (1 13/16 x 1 5/8 in.) gross weight: 23 gr

  • Accession Number

    1957.14.502

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Gustave Dreyfus [1837-1914], Paris; his estate; purchased 1930 by (Duveen Brothers, Inc., London and New York); purchased 1945 by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, New York; gift 1957 to NGA.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1886

  • Molinier, Émile. Les Bronzes de la Renaissance. Les Plaquettes; Catalogue Raisonné. 2 vols. Paris, 1886:, 1:204, no. 288.

1931

  • Ricci, Seymour de. The Gustave Dreyfus Collection. Reliefs and Plaquettes. Oxford, 1931. vol. II, 251, no. 368, pl. 106.

1951

  • National Gallery of Art. Renaissance Bronzes: Statuettes, Reliefs and Plaquettes, Medals and Coins from the Kress Collection. Introduction by Perry B. Cott. Washington, 1951: 156.

1965

  • Pope-Hennessy, John W. Renaissance Bronzes from the Samuel H. Kress Collection: Reliefs, Plaquettes, Statuettes, Utensils and Mortars. London, 1965: 12, no. 21, fig. 370.

1997

  • Kagan, Julia O. "The Classical Hero as Ideal Ruler on Two early Nineteeth-Century Russian Cameos." Studies in the History of Art 54 (1997): 283-285, repro. no. 10.

2004

  • Donati, Valentino and Rosanna Casadio. Bronzi e pietre dure nelle incisione di Valerio Belli vicentino. Ferrara, 2004: 136, as Hercules at the Crossroads.

Inscriptions

across bottom: INSTAR.

Wikidata ID

Q63815277

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