3-012-036 - The Print Collector/Heritage Images

Raising the colossal bronze statue of Hercules found underground in the Campo dei Fiori, Rome, 1864. Engraving from a sketch by M. Carli, a French artist. 'A discovery of some antiquarian and artistic value has just been made...[under] an old palace in one of the dirtiest parts of Rome, called the Biscione...[It is] a magnificent gilt bronze statue of a youthful Hercules, 14 ft. high. Over the gilding, which is very thick and bright, is a rough calcareous incrustation, which must be carefully removed before the beauty of the statue can be thoroughly appreciated. It was found imbedded in marble chips, such as form the sweepings of a sculptor's studio...It may once have stood in the Temple of Hercules, whence it may have been removed and buried in later times, to prevent its being carried off by the despoilers of Rome. There are, however, some who insist that it is a portrait of Domitian represented as Hercules...men are busy exploring, in the hope of finding one of the feet, which is missing. The club has come up in three pieces, and the lion's skin, which was hung over the shoulder...and which has evidently been cast separately, is especially interesting, as showing the mode in which the ancients executed their work of casting'. From "Illustrated London News", 1864.