Hercules and Omphale 

Curator: Well, hello there. I am getting total Baroque decadence. Look at this explosion of fleshy forms, soft lighting, cherubic babes hiding in the trees—it feels like a hot summer nap in a very luxurious garden. Editor: Indeed, this is Luca Giordano’s painting of Hercules and Omphale. The painting is composed using oil paints on canvas and plunges the viewer straight into a mythological world. Curator: Luca who? Ah, never mind that. Okay, so Hercules, right? Mr. Muscles and Might. But he looks... sort of henpecked. He is practically cross-eyed as he bobs that distaff with a ridiculous fluff of wool, all the while eyeing the lounging Omphale with what seems like regret. That is my take anyway. Editor: This is precisely Giordano's clever twist on the Herculean myth. It shows the hero stripped of his virility. Omphale holds his club and wears the lion's skin, both symbols, appropriated as hers, emasculating him to show her dominion. Curator: Ah, the ultimate role reversal! The painting oozes with commentary on the eternal struggle between the sexes, or, I would say it gently ribs it! Giordano's take is lighter than air. I detect nothing angry, abusive, and so on, just playful. It all melts under that dreamy light. Editor: Indeed, the distaff symbolizes the domestic sphere to which Hercules has been reduced. His legendary strength and heroic feats amount to…winding yarn, while Omphale’s apparent vanity—preoccupied as she is with admiring herself in the mirror—serves to heighten the image. Curator: So it's all about these symbolic trinkets, you mean, those emblems… This work doesn't scream power or male aggression to me. But vulnerability, sensuality and so on are there in abundance. What are those playful cherubs in the trees up to, by the way? What is the cultural read? Editor: Their playful behavior hints at the mischievous nature of love. They create a sense of whimsy that tempers the painting's more serious undertones. Through all that the image remains quite erotic, wouldn't you say? Curator: Well, I'd say that the fellow can barely breathe because the whole canvas oozes sexual and sensual heat, that is what the image screams. A painting, as I see it, does more than symbolize. Thank you for leading me along there! Editor: An exquisite vision of art through emotion. Always my pleasure.