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The Farnese Hercules

ca. 1770–90
Not on view
The Pichler family was an Austrian dynasty of glyptic artists based in Rome. Giovanni’s cameo quotes a famous ancient marble statue in the Museo Archeologico, Naples. Another after it, also signed by Pichler, is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna. Nathaniel Marchant (see 40.20.1) began to use the same two-thirds viewpoint by at least 1780 in intaglios (now in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg, and elsewhere) that circulated in the form of sulfur impressions. Whether he or Pichler was the first to do so remains to be discovered.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: The Farnese Hercules
  • Artist: Giovanni Pichler (Italian, Naples 1734–1791 Rome)
  • Date: ca. 1770–90
  • Culture: Italian, Rome
  • Medium: Onyx and gold
  • Dimensions: Overall: 1 1/8 x 13/16 in. (2.9 x 2.1 cm); visible cameo (confirmed): 24.8 x 16.6 mm
  • Classification: Lapidary Work-Gems
  • Credit Line: The Milton Weil Collection, 1939
  • Object Number: 39.22.46
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

More Artwork

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Seated female figure, Giovanni Pichler Italian, Sardonyx and gold, Italian
Seated female figure
Giovanni Pichler
18th century
Jugate portrait of a couple in Roman style, Giovanni Pichler Italian, Sardonyx and gold, Italian, Rome
Jugate portrait of a couple in Roman style
Giovanni Pichler
ca. 1775–80
Head of a young man in Roman style, Giovanni Pichler Italian, Sardonyx and gold, Italian, Rome
Head of a young man in Roman style
Giovanni Pichler
ca. 1775–80
Cupid chained to a rock, Giovanni Pichler Italian, Onyx and gold, Italian, probably Rome
Cupid chained to a rock
Giovanni Pichler
late 18th century
Young woman with a torch and vase, Giovanni Pichler Italian, Sardonyx and gold, Italian, Rome
Young woman with a torch and vase
Giovanni Pichler
ca. 1770–90

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