Hercules and Omphale

According to the writers of Classical Antiquity, the ancient hero Hercules was remanded as a slave by the Delphic Oracle to Omphale, Queen of Lydia, as a penalty for slaying his friend Iphitos in a murderous rage. Humiliation was in store for this most masculine of heroes. Hercules was forced to wear women’s clothing and assist Omphale and her maidens in spinning; in turn, Omphale seized his lion’s skin and warrior’s club. This exchange of attributes can be seen in the present painting, though the cross-dressing element is absent. The pair ultimately became lovers, as alluded to by the presence of the putto, who exchanges a knowing glance with Omphale and gestures to Hercules, impotent in slumber, here. The story was understood as a salutary warning of the potential for women to exercise dominion over even the most powerful of men.

The son of a wealthy Veronese merchant, Antonio Balestra studied painting in Rome, in particular frequenting the studio of Carlo Maratti, before returning to the Veneto, where he worked chiefly in Verona and Venice. Two other paintings by the artist take Hercules and Omphale as their subject, though their compositions differ significantly (see L. Ghio and E. Baccheschi, 'Balestra', in I Pittori Bergamaschi: dal XIII al XIX secolo. Settecento, Bergamo, 1989, pp. 81-307). One is in a private collection, Bologna (ibid., no. 113, fig. 1); the other was in the collection of Francesco Personi, Verona (ibid., no. 248). In his depiction of Hercules, Balestra seems to have used the same model as for his Samson and Delilah in the Pinacoteca del Seminario, Rovigo (ibid., no. 138, fig. 7).