# The Farnese Hercules

**Giorgio Ghisi** (Italian, 1520–1582)  
c. 1577  
Engraving in black on cream laid paper  
Plate: 36.4 × 22 cm (14 3/8 × 8 11/16 in.); Sheet: 50 × 35.8 cm (19 11/16 × 14 1/8 in.)

Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago, 2022.150. [The museum's record](https://www.artic.edu/artworks/264799).

## About this work

Giorgio Ghisi made this in about 1577, aged about 52. It is now at the Art Institute of Chicago.

### What you’re looking at

A work made of engraving in black on cream laid paper.

_Description from the Art Institute of Chicago._

### How it was made

- **Engraving.** Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.
- **Laid paper.** Handmade on a mould of close-set wires, which leave fine parallel lines you can see when the sheet is held to the light.

### [Giorgio Ghisi](https://www.ochreeditions.com/artists/giorgio-ghisi)

Italian, 1520–1582

Ghisi was a Mantuan engraver who worked in Antwerp for the publisher Hieronymus Cock, engraving large plates after Raphael’s Vatican frescoes, and later in France. His refined, silvery technique, built from fine, regular lines and flicks, carried Italian compositions to collectors across Europe. In his later years he returned to Mantua, where he served the Gonzaga court.

_Written by Ochre Editions._

## Facts

- Type: Print
- Culture: Italy
- The artist was about 52
- Real size: about 14 × 8½ in (36 × 22 cm). The 11 × 14 in print is close to life size.
- Century: 16th century
- Movement: [Renaissance](https://www.ochreeditions.com/movements/renaissance)
- Colour: white
- Rights: public domain (CC0 1.0); free to use for any purpose.

## Get it

- Free download, full resolution: https://img.ochreeditions.com/m/420.jpg?dl=1
- Image: https://img.ochreeditions.com/a/420/1920.jpg
- Giclée reproduction on Hahnemühle Photo Rag: 8 × 10 in $28; 11 × 14 in $38; 12 × 16 in $42; 16 × 20 in $56; 18 × 24 in $68; 20 × 30 in $86; 24 × 36 in $108; 30 × 40 in $148
- Framed reproduction: 8 × 10 in $78; 11 × 14 in $98; 12 × 16 in $108; 16 × 20 in $138; 18 × 24 in $164; 20 × 30 in $208; 24 × 36 in $258; 30 × 40 in $338
- Canvas reproduction: 8 × 10 in $58; 11 × 14 in $72; 12 × 16 in $79; 16 × 20 in $98; 18 × 24 in $118; 20 × 30 in $148; 24 × 36 in $178; 30 × 40 in $228
- Print-ready file: 8 × 10 in $2; 11 × 14 in $2; 12 × 16 in $3; 16 × 20 in $3; 18 × 24 in $3; 20 × 30 in $5; 24 × 36 in $5; 30 × 40 in $5

Sizes stop where the museum's file would print below 150 pixels per inch. Everything sold is a reproduction, made to order. [Order a print](https://www.ochreeditions.com/art/the-farnese-hercules-aic-264799).