Who painted “Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra”?

“Hercules and the Lernaean Hydra” was painted by Gustave Moreau in 1876. Where to see it: Art Institute of Chicago.

What to look for

Symbolism: the subject is an idea or a mood rather than a story: enigmatic women, mythological creatures, twilight landscapes. Academic art tells legible stories; Symbolism hints.

Gustave Moreau (6 April 1826 – 18 April 1898) was a French artist and an important figure in the Symbolist movement. Jean Cassou called him "the Symbolist painter par excellence". He was an influential forerunner of symbolism in the visual arts in the 1860s, and at the height of the symbolist movement in the 1890s, he was among the most significant painters. Wikipedia

Test yourself: a round on Gustave Moreau

More by Gustave Moreau

“Oedipus and the Sphinx”, 1864
“Orphés”, 1865
“The Apparition”, 1876
“Salomé Dancing before Herod”, 1876
“Salome”, 1874
“Jason”, 1865
“Mystic Flower”, 1890
“Saint George and the Dragon”, 1889–1890