Bonaventura Genelli
(1798-1868)
Herkules und Omphale,
1862
Material / Technology / Carrier
Öl auf Leinwand
Dimensions of the object
196 x 308,5 cm
Displayed
Not on display
Acquisition
1862 durch Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack erworben
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München
Citation
Bonaventura Genelli, Herkules und Omphale, 1862, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/anxgYqDGEq (Last updated on 19.06.2023)
The history painter Bonaventura Genelli lived in Munich from 1836 in straitened circumstances. Schack ensured his livelihood by commissioning six large paintings between 1857 and 1867. This example shows Hercules at the court of Queen Omphale, where the hero rested from his legendary adventures by indulging in the pleasures of love, wine and music. Friezes at the top and bottom depict Ganymede amid the gods and the bridal procession of Bacchus and Ariadne respectively. The composition as a whole recalls Renaissance wall decoration and was based on a design by the artist for murals in a ‘Roman house’ belonging to the Leipzig publisher Hermann Härtel, which had not been carried out because Genelli and Härtel fell out.
You may also be interested in the following works of art:
