"Hercules and the Hydra" | American School ca. 1940s

ART DECO
United States, circa 1940s

Hercules and the Lernean Hydra

Patinated bronze | unsigned | designed as a fountain

stock ref. 410TUG09E

31 3/4" H x 8 1/8" base diameter
Stark and minimal, this very fine and imposing composition captures the very essence of Hercules overwhelming his adversary. His body is ensnared and entwined with the six-headed Lernean Hydra, its coiled body wrapped around his powerful legs and twisting around his arms where Hercules grasps them, crushing their writing necks in his oversized fists. Everything about the hero is modeled larger than life, a showcase of his raw and almost unbridled power. Muscles are strained and taut as his expression remains mechanical and undaunted. The use of angles in the composition fascinates the eye and plays with the spacial arrangements, a diamond arrangement in the figure over the octagonal base with the substantial weight of the midriff reduced by moving the arms away from the body. Note the sculptor's study of musculature, showcasing each arm tensed in opposite grasps.

This model is perhaps unique, as we have found no counterparts to it. It was cleverly designed with an internal tube system that allows it to operate as a fountain: water shoots from the six mouths of the hydra and the eight mouths of sea creatures raising the octagonal base with its beveled edge. The loose modeling and highly impressionistic surface are dramatic and replete with texture, catching and reflecing light from every direction. Finished in the original patina with a wonderful nuanced balance between light and dark tones in the bronze, it is translucent and glowing. An extraordinary example. Condition: Light wear to the original patina, including a few spots of the heads of the Hydra and raised elements here and there. Carefully cleaned and all oxidization carefully deactivated before sealing in a conservator's grade of wax. Trace verdigris and discoloration. It does not appear to have been operated as a fountain - we have visually inspected it and it appears to be complete, but we have not tested the internal tubing. Ready to place.