The Image of Hercules with infant Telephos
The statue of Heracles with infant Telephos which is located in the Chiaramonti Museum is the oldest example of this image, having been created in the 2nd century A.D. as a copy of a Greek statue of the 4th century A.D.
This statue, which was discovered in Rome in the vicinity of Campo de’ Fiori, was one of the first sculptures to come into the Vatican collections. Pope Julius II (1503-1573) exhibited it in the Courtyard of the Statues in the Belvedere. The presence of Heracles, in fact, leads us back to the mythological origins of Rome and alludes in particular to the victory of the Romans over the tribes of ancient Latium. The god Heracles, with his club and lion skin, holds his son Telephos in his arms. Telephos is the son born to Heracles by the priestess Auge who was forced to abandon the child in the mountains of Arcadia, where he was nourished by a doe until he was rescued by his father. Telephos became King of Mysia and one of the leading characters in a rich and complex mythology that sees him involved in the Greek expedition against Troy. This statue is a second century A.D. copy, probably of a Late Hellenistic original.
In The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates: Rome's Deadliest Enemy, Adrienne Mayor states that "Recent analysis of portraiture in contemporary coins and sculpture suggests that the model for the little boy was none other than Mithradates!"
According to her Pompey the Great recognized the likeness of the baby Telephus to Mithradates and took it to Rome after defeating Mithradates in 63 BC (Mayor): "Pompey installed this Hercules statue in his Theater on the Field of Mars in Rome. The statue was discovered in 1507 in Campo dei Fiori, near the ruins of Pompey's Theater."
After its rediscovery in 1507, the statue became an inspiration for the artists of its time leading to many engravings of the image belonging to the 16th century. The emperor Commodus was pictured in the same pose multiple times in the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (published c. 1540-80), inspiring slightly different copies which dates extend into the 18th century. I am not sure if I have acquired all of these copies since there are so many. But here are some;
Emperor Commodus as Hercules, Attributed to Jacob(us) Bos, 1550
This print comes from the museum’s copy of the Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae (The Mirror of Roman Magnificence) The Speculum found its origin in the publishing endeavors of Antonio Salamanca and Antonio Lafreri. During their Roman publishing careers, the two foreign publishers - who worked together between 1553 and 1563 - initiated the production of prints recording art works, architecture and city views related to Antique and Modern Rome. The prints could be bought individually by tourists and collectors, but were also purchased in larger groups which were often bound together in an album. In 1573, Lafreri commissioned a title page for this purpose, which is where the title ‘Speculum Romanae Magnificentiae’ first appears. Lafreri envisioned an ideal arrangement of the prints in 7 different categories, but during his lifetime, never appears to have offered one standard, bound set of prints. Instead, clients composed their own selection from the corpus to be bound, or collected a group of prints over time. When Lafreri died, two-third of the existing copper plates went to the Duchetti family (Claudio and Stefano), while another third was distributed among several publishers. The Duchetti appear to have standardized production, offering a more or less uniform version of the Speculum to their clients. The popularity of the prints also inspired other publishers in Rome to make copies however, and to add new prints to the corpus.
The Emperor Commodus dressed as Hercules, after an antique statue placed in a niche in the Belvedere, Anonymous, 1587-89
Hercules and Telephos, Hendrick Glotzius, c. 1592
Emperor Commodus in the Papal gardens, after the engraving of Jacob(us) Bos, ca. 1614
Heracles with infant Telephos, Sir Nicolas Dorigny, 1704
Of course, the statue’s artistic interpretations were not limited to engravings. Here is a terracotta reproduction by Stefano Maderno, dated 1620.
And lastly, I would like to add a very interesting photograph by James Anderson dating 1859 and bearing the name Hercule avec le jeune Ajax. It is a photograph of the sculpture we know today but with the father's genitals covered and the club still intact.
1. http://www.museivaticani.va/content/museivaticani/en/collezioni/musei/museo-chiaramonti/ercole-e-telefo-bambino.html
2. https://www.flickr.com/photos/askrobotov/48448640202/
3. https://www.flickr.com/photos/hen-magonza/7361370584/
4. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/402935
5. https://www.britishmuseum.org/research/collection_online/collection_object_details.aspx?assetId=340981001&objectId=3064979&partId=1
6. https://www.artic.edu/artworks/112044/hercules-and-telephos-plate-two-from-three-famous-antique-sculptures
7. http://speculum.lib.uchicago.edu/search.php?search%5B0%5D=commodus&searchnode%5B0%5D=all&result=7
8. https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/art-artists/work-of-art/heracles-with-infant-telephos-kown-as-commodo-imperatore-or-ercole-romano
10. http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/218216/james-anderson-hercule-avec-le-jeune-ajax-vatican-british-1859/?dz=0.4745,0.4745,0.74
