Hercules doodt de draak Ladon 1696

Hendrick van Beaumont made this drawing of Hercules slaying the dragon Ladon with pen and brush in watercolor. Beaumont is working within the tradition of mythological painting, which artists in Europe had inherited from classical antiquity. But what does it mean to revisit and rework these stories? Mythological painting in the 16th and 17th centuries doesn’t just tell old stories. It also expresses social and political ideas in coded form. Hercules was seen as a symbol of virtue and a defender of justice, so this imagery could be used to legitimize rulers. It's worth asking: who is the Hercules of Beaumont's time, and what dragons did they have to slay? To fully understand the painting’s meanings, we can delve into the social and intellectual world of its time. Historical texts and records can reveal the artist’s intentions. We must consider how the painting actively shapes and reflects its social context.