Hercules 1921

John Singer Sargent completed this painting of Hercules battling the Hydra sometime before 1925, using oil paint on canvas. Sargent worked in the grand tradition of history painting, but like many artists of his time, he wanted to modernize it. He does so, in part, by emphasizing the sheer physicality of the encounter. Hercules is muscular, solid, and believably three-dimensional. The Hydra is a writhing mass of serpentine forms, overlapping and intertwined. You can almost feel the weight of the hero's body, and the scaly texture of the monster he's fighting. Consider, too, the sheer amount of work that went into the making of this painting. The layering of paint, the careful rendering of light and shadow, the precise drawing of the figures. All of this speaks to a commitment to craft, a desire to create something lasting and meaningful. Sargent asks us to see labor, politics, and consumption in a new light.