Hercules Strangling the Nemean Lion

An impression of just the black line block of an anonymous chiaroscuro woodcut based on a print by Nicoló Vicentino, from which it differs notably in the altered and enlarged landscape. A first state of the chiaroscuro at RCIN 851846; a second state at RCIN 851847. Not listed in Ruland's Raphael Collection catalogue (1876). Another impression of this plate at RCIN 851852.

The authorship of the original design is a matter of dispute, with some scholars supporting the traditional attribution to Raphael (Oberhuber/Gnann 1999), and others suggesting that the composition may derive from a drawing by Giulio Romano related to the fresco of the same subject in the Sala dei Cavalli in the Palazzo Te, Mantua, part of a cycle illustrating the ‘Labours of Hercules’ (Raphael Invenit 1985, p.249, VII.6). The decoration of the room was designed by Giulio, and executed by Rinaldo Mantovano and Benedetto Pagni between 1527 and 1528.