"Hercules the Infant Strangling the Serpents" octagonal, from the mural series "The Building of the House of Wisdom," Charlton Yarnall House
Date
1910–11Medium
Oil on canvasCredit Line
Gift of the Southeast Pennsylvania Chapter of the American Red Cross, 1963Dimensions
29 x 29 1/8 inDescription & Inscriptions
In three of the six octagonal panels, Oakley depicts the story of Hercules, the archetypal hero of Western civilization, in three stages of life.
In the first panel he appears as a baby strangling serpents, a demonstration of his superhuman courage and strength.
In the first panel he appears as a baby strangling serpents, a demonstration of his superhuman courage and strength.
