1694

Two Pairs of Atlantes

Italian, 1667 - 1717

This work reproduces illusionistic atlantes painted by Ludovico Carracci for the cloister of San Michele in Bosco, Bologna, Italy. Atlantes, male figures used in place of columns, were usually represented with their hands behind their heads supporting the weight of the building on their shoulders. Both pairs of atlantes seem less concerned with providing support, however, than with fighting with one another, and are reminiscent of Antaeus, the Greek mythological giant who became stronger whenever he touched the earth, and Hercules, who overcame him by lifting him into the air.