Hercules, aka Hercules, as is known, made a dozen feats at the request of king Evrisfey. The eighth feat was the kidnapping of horses-the cannibals of king Diomedes. And here is Hercules and Diomedes statue. The cruel perfidious king sent all the foreigners at the mercy of his handsome black, tried to return their property, and come to grips with the ancient hero. The battle was won by Heracles who fed the corpse of Diomedes to his own horses.
This is the old mythological framework that formed the basis of the sculptures of the great Michelangelo’s pupil Vincenzo de Rossi.
Piazza Della Signoria in Florence has always been a place where the best craftsmen of the Renaissance by order of the rulers installed sculptures with symbolic meaning. The Renaissance was for Florence hot. Constant strife, wars… Guelph’s, Ghibelline’s… Rulers were constantly working to keep the Patriotic spirit of the townspeople in good shape. That sculpture de Rossi was intended to strengthen the patriotism of the Florentines.
Hercules and Diomedes statue meaning
At first glance, the sculpture will confuse some redundant, at first glance, excessive candor and the accuracy of some parts, which is usually the sculptors did not give value. The author represented the peak of the fight between Hercules and Diomedes. Another moment and the cruel king will be defeated. In despair, Diomedes grabbed and squeezed in first of the genitals of Hercules.
What is the meaning invested in the author and his work? Most likely, the sculptor wanted to say that never, under any circumstances, do not need to give up, continuing to fight until the end. However, the sense of humor, the pupil of Michelangelo couldn’t refuse.
In fact, morality and decency during the Renaissance were far from our understanding. This sculpture attracted much more attention from the Florentines, and therefore its purpose is performed properly.
Currently, the sculpture is removed from the square and is decorated with the famous “Hall of five hundred” in the Palazzo Della Signoria. In this hall gathered the “great national Council” of Florence, the main governing body of the Republic.
Tourists today, visiting the treasures of Florence, shamefully bypassed the sculpture side, diverting the children’s attention. Manifestation of hypocrisy? Ignorance of history? The inability to understand the meaning? It is difficult to answer. It is known that the Vatican was not in awe of this sculpture, so pretty quickly it was removed from the square, away from the eyes of the crowd.
Critics point out some incompleteness of this work. Actually work is extremely complicated. Non-standard poses, camera angles difficult. The work can be seen and some violations of the proportions of the human body simplified characters’ features.
Despite all the imperfections of this work, it was and remained one of the greatest masterpieces of the High Renaissance. But along with the works of Cellini, Donatello, and Michelangelo, it is somewhat pale, which does not prevent many corporations to place copies and casts of this work in their offices, referring to their competitors for their perseverance in difficult competition.