This work of the erymanthian boar is not a widely reported episode among those performed by hercules. Apparently this is a new demonstration of the hero's ability to defeat evil and save men from their excesses. Zurbarán's representation places the character in the foreground, centering the composition, at the moment when he is preparing to shoot down the colossal boar that was devastating the lands of mount erymanthus, in arcadia, where it attacked the flocks and frightened the shepherds. Hercules finished off the fierce animal with the help of the club, returning peace to the previously devastated lands and, to satisfy the great curiosity of eurystheus, king of mycenae, he transported the wild boar to the greek city, carrying it on his back. That part of the story is also illustrated in the right corner of this canvas. Baltasar de victoria this episode with that of the calydonian boar, and highlights the feat of the son of zeus by defining the boar as a furious and vengeful animal, and affirming that the poets, to denote a man who is fond of vengeance and too daring, compare him to the courageous boar. We see then that, in this approach to the mythical relative of the spanish monarch, emphasis is placed on his ability to defeat his worst enemies. As an inspiring source for the figure of hercules, the print by cornelis cort has been pointed out, illustrating the work in which the hero kills the hydra of lerna, although reversing the arrangement. However, the most direct model could be found by zurbarán in one of the figures that appear, in almost the same attitude, in the print of hercules with the pygmies. In any case, the extremaduran painter achieved a composition very similar to the one achieved in the fight with the lerna hydra (p1249); a very open disposition for the protagonist, fostered by the forced position of arms and legs and highly modeled musculature, highlighted by effective lighting that makes hercules stand out from the entire ensemble. The head is drawn with small touches of color applied over the red of the primer, thereby achieving a simple and effective pictorial resolution. At the same time, this basic intonation, which also shines through in the hands, gives a truly peculiar appearance to the hero, with a sunburnt complexion, and very dark hair that gives, at the very least, a very traditional tone to the character (text extracted from ruiz, l. In: el palacio del rey planeta. Felipe iv y el buen retiro, museo nacional del prado, 2005, p. 152). Object Type: painting. Genre: mythological painting. Date: 1634. Dimensions: 132 × 153 cm (51.9 × 60.2 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Museo del Prado. Hércules y el jabalí de Erimanto, por Zurbarán
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