Hercules Driving Envy from the Temple of the Muses (1522–24): Art, History and Details

Hercules Driving Envy from the Temple of the Muses (1522–24) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1479–c. 1532); Balthasar Peruzzi (Italian, 1481–1536).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The term chiaroscuro combines the Italian words chiaro (light) and scuro (dark). Invented to emulate drawings with light and dark pigments on tinted paper, the printing technique uses multiple woodblocks to layer different tones of color. Here, Ugo da Carpi—the progenitor of the chiaroscuro woodcut in Italy—used two blocks in black and gray on a beige paper. In this allegory, not linked to a particular myth, Hercules applies his brute force in the service of art and knowledge. Pointing toward the archway, Apollo banishes the vice of Avarice from the Temple of the Muses. A personification of greed, Avarice carries a hoard of treasure in her arms as Hercules, a character of virtuous strength, chases her out. Apollo sits next to the war goddess Athena, identified by her helmet, shield, and spear. Here she represents wisdom, and fulfills a civilizing role as patroness of the arts.

Object facts

• Title: Hercules Driving Envy from the Temple of the Muses
• Date: 1522–24
• Creator attribution: Ugo da Carpi (Italian, c. 1479–c. 1532); Balthasar Peruzzi (Italian, 1481–1536)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: chiaroscuro woodcut (in black and gray)
• Dimensions: Sheet: 29.5 x 22.5 cm (11 5/8 x 8 7/8 in.)
• Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1925.443

A detail from the museum

There are two versions of the Hercules Driving Envy from the Temple of the Muses composition. The CMA chiaroscuro woodcut corresponds to version B, in which figures are modeled using less cross-hatching and more highlights in tone blocks.

Collection credit

Gift of Ralph King

Further reading listed by the museum

• Goldfarb, Hilliard T. “Chiaroscuro Woodcut Technique and Andrea Andreani.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 68, no. 9 (November 1981): 307–330.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.