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Hercules with Omphale

Unknown

1535

From the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst

Renaissance Renaissance Mythology

Dominant colour

Hercules with Omphale is a 1535 by Unknown, a Renaissance work, held at Statens Museum for Kunst.

Who painted this?: Unknown
When & what style?: 1535 · Renaissance
Where can I see it?: Statens Museum for Kunst

About this work

This painting shows a bearded man in a white tunic holding a staff topped with a ball of yarn. Three women stand around him—one in a red dress adjusting his hat, another in orange holding a spindle, and a third in white and red watching. The background is dark, with a Latin phrase written along the edge and a small coat of arms in the top left corner. The man’s pose and the women’s tasks hint at a story from mythology. The yarn and spindle suggest a twist on a familiar tale, where roles are reversed. Next, look up Renaissance to see how artists played with old myths in new ways.