''Hercules Fighting the Nemean Lion'' is a work of 1634 by the Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán. It is conserved in the

Museo del Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

Description

The painting depicts Heracles fighting the Nemean Lion. The Spanish art critic Soria suggests a comparison with a woodcut fashioned by

Cornelis Cort Cornelis Cort (c. 1533 – c. 17 March 1578) was a Dutch engraver and draughtsman. He spent the last 12 years of his life in Italy, where he was known as ''Cornelio Fiammingo''. Biography Born in Hoorn or Edam, Cort may have been a pupil of D ...

after a work by

Frans Floris Frans Floris, Frans Floris the Elder or Frans Floris de Vriendt (17 April 15191 October 1570) was a Flemish painter, draughtsman, print artist and tapestry designer. He is mainly known for his history paintings, allegorical scenes and portraits.< ...

, based on the hero's position. The rocky setting was designed according to a woodcut by Barthel Beham: ''Fighting versus Centaur'' (1542). It is one of series of 10 artworks on the Labours of Hercules commissioned by Philip IV of Spain for the decoration of the Hall of Realms in the Buen Retiro Palace. The series is now on display at the

Bibliography

* Juan Antonio Gaya Nuño and Tiziana Frati, ''La obra Pictórica de Zurbarán'', Editorial Planeta, Barcelona, 1988, pp. 131–132. {{Museo del Prado Lions in art Paintings of Heracles Paintings by Francisco de Zurbarán 1630s paintings