Term in the form of Hercules With His Club 1535 - 1555

This print, Hercules With His Club, was made by Jean Mignon around the mid-16th century using the etching process. Look closely and you will see the Hercules is formed in thin lines incised onto a metal plate with acid. The etched lines would have held the ink, then transferred to paper under great pressure. The result is a graphic image with a wealth of detail. The very nature of etching – the biting of the metal, the controlled violence of the process – seems well-suited to the image of Hercules, the classical strongman. But at the same time, there is delicacy and grace to the execution. Mignon was a skilled draftsman, and would also have been a knowledgeable metallurgist. Understanding the material properties of both the plate and the paper would have been crucial to achieving this effect. He transforms the brute labor of Hercules into a display of skill and refinement. In doing so, he reminds us that even the most monumental art begins with careful, considered making.