Neroccio di Bartolommeo de'Landi - A Hero of Antiquity, about 1500

Commentary

This painting is part of a group of of images of ancient heroes that were set into the walls of a Renaissance interior. With the ornate costumes, rakish pose (one hip thrust out), and long hair, the figures merge classical heroes with fashionable young men of Renaissance Italy. The Renaissance enthusiasm for such heroic figures may be found in other works in this gallery. Look for Romans with drawn swords in The Story of Lucretia and the figure of Saint George battling a dragon.