Overview Curatorial Departments Near Eastern Antiquities Egyptian Antiquities Greek, Etruscan, and Roman Antiquities Islamic Art Sculptures Decorative Arts Paintings Introduction Selected Works Latest Acquisitions Traveling Works Works in Focus Bibliography Timeline Maps Research Centers Prints and Drawings Kaleidoscope Databases My Personal Space Demo Sign In to My Space Forgot Your Password? Donate Online Professionals Overview Journalists Companies Tourism Professionals Professionals & Associations Teachers Young People (Under 30) Overview Under-18s 18 to 30s Support the Louvre	Home - Collection - Curatorial Departments - Paintings - Selected Works - French Painting Paintings : French Painting François Lemoyne Hercules and Omphale 1724 © Musée du Louvre/A. Dequier - M. Bard Details Technical information François Lemoyne Hercules and Omphale 1724 Oil on canvas H: 1.84 m; L: 1.49 m Dr Louis La Caze bequest, 1869 M.I. 1086 Paintings Interactive floor plans Author(s) Vincent Pomarède ... 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ... Back to list   Hercules and Omphale Hercules has fallen under the spell of Omphale, Queen of Lydia, and is reduced to spinning wool, spindle and distaff in hand. Omphale is wearing the hero's lion skin and is clasping his club in an extremely suggestive manner. The sensuality and vibrancy of the painting reflect the influence of Venetian art. Description The myth Wishing to expiate the murder of one of his friends, Hercules consulted the oracle of Apollo, who advised him to enter the service of Omphale, Queen of Lydia. Although Hercules was the son of Zeus and was famed for his invincible strength, he submitted to the tasks the queen devised for him to expiate his crime. Omphale fell in love with Hercules for his strength and physical beauty, and the couple married. This tale, found in both Greek and Roman mythology, is told with a number of variations. It proved a great source of inspiration for French and Italian Mannerist painters, as well as the Venetian artists who influenced Lemoyne. François Boucher also painted a version of the same love scene. A love of color and boundless admiration for Venetian art François Lemoyne was the teacher of François Boucher. He was the artist who decorated the Hercules Salon in the chateau of Versailles. He paved the way for 18th-century French painting with two great artistic passions, perfectly encapsulated in this painting. These two passions, which were to have a profound influence later in the century, were a love of color - the admirers of Rubens had eventually won the argument over the use of color that had divided the Royal Academy since the late 17th century - and boundless admiration for the great Venetian artists of the 16th century. ... 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 ... Back to list

		Thematic Trail Italian Renaissance Painting While the great European powers battled for control of Italy, Italian fifteenth- and sixteenth-century artists broadened the field of Western painting. All the thematic trails Atlas Database © Musée du Louvre Collection databases View many of the 35,000 works on display, and consult the relevant technical information and accompanying commentaries by curators. Louis Lacaze: Reconstruction of the room dedicated to his collection Discover a 3D modelization of the La Caze room – now the Bronzes room, Sully wing, first floor, room 32 – as it was in 1913, when it housed 177 paintings by masters such as Rembrandt, Chardin or Watteau, from the prestigious collection bequeathed by La Caze to the Louvre.
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