Hercules as a Gladiator

Datable to the very end of the sixteenth century (c. 1599–1600) on the basis of dendrochronology and stylistic analysis, this well-preserved panel marks the close of Rubens' youth and the beginning of his mature career. It is loosely related to the ambitious series of Roman emperor portraits the young Rubens produced around 1598–1600, yet stands apart through its exceptional quality and inventive iconography — combining the attributes of Hercules, a Roman gladiator of the Hoplomachus type, and possibly the emperor Hadrian. Long mistaken for a portrait of the emperor Commodus dressed as Hercules, the identification has since been revised: the sitter's features do not match the securely documented Commodus portrait in the Stuttgart/Phoebus series. The panel is discussed at length by Koenraad Jonckheere as an outstanding example of the young Rubens "thinking" through paint — testing physiognomy, gesture and allegory years before his Italian period.

Infrared reflectography reveals a remarkable pentimento in the hand gripping the club: Rubens changed the position of the thumb while painting, and its first placement can still be traced beneath the final paint layer. Such corrections, made directly on the panel, are a precious testimony of the master’s hand at work – an artist correcting himself as the composition took shape.