# Study of Hercules Resting, with Separate Studies of His Head and Foot (recto); Rectangular grid design (verso)

- By: Annibale Carracci (Italian, 1560–1609)
- Date: 1595/97
- Medium: Black chalk, heightened with white chalk, on blue laid paper
- Classification: Drawing and Watercolor
- Dimensions: 25.9 × 39.5 cm (10 1/4 × 15 9/16 in.)
- Culture: Italy
- Credit line: Gift of Richard and Mary L. Gray
- Museum: [Art Institute of Chicago](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/202162)
- Rights: [Public domain (CC0)](https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
- Picture: https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/5be326ba-423e-27a0-b6e0-3ab9681d2d67/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Teens profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

This is a highly finished study for a fresco mural of the same subject in the Palazzo Farnese in Rome. Hercules, the hero of Greek myth, is identified by his club, a lion’s hide, and the apple in his right hand. Though lifelike, the figure was not drawn from a live model but rather from statues available to the artist in Rome, especially an ancient Roman sculpture of a reclining river god.

The blue paper creates a mid tone between the black and white chalks, granting Hercules a greater degree of volume and naturalism and dramatically enhancing Annibale Carracci’s fluid, masterful line.

Description © Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0