Hercules with the Apple of the Hesperides
by BERTOLDO DI GIOVANNI, Bronze, height 49 cm
Bertoldo di Giovanni formed the link in Florence between his master Donatello and his pupil Michelangelo. A friend of Lorenzo the Magnificent, whose gems he preserved, and well-known for his small-scale works, Bertoldo drew his inspiration from the antique. His Hercules with the Apple of the Hesperides has the tranquil pose and monumentality of a classical marble.