"The Choice of Hercules" 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 this panel, the second, he is a youth vacillating between two mistresses, modest Virtue and voluptuous Vice; he will choose the path of responsibility rather than pleasure.
In this panel, the second, he is a youth vacillating between two mistresses, modest Virtue and voluptuous Vice; he will choose the path of responsibility rather than pleasure.
