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Hercules and Omphale, after François Lemoyne
2007
Vik Muniz's 'Hercules and Omphale, after François Lemoyne' is a monumental chromogenic print mounted on aluminum from the celebrated 'Pictures of Junk' series, created in 2007. The work is an appropriation of François Lemoyne's 1724 Baroque painting of the same name, meticulously reconstructed using discarded objects and junk arranged to recreate the mythological scene of Hercules and Omphale, queen of Lydia. The original Lemoyne painting resides in the Louvre Museum in Paris, lending the appropriation both classical gravitas and sharp contemporary commentary on consumerism and material culture. This is a limited edition of 6, includes a Certificate of Authenticity issued by the gallery, and is signed via sticker label.
- Medium
- Framed chromogenic print mounted on aluminum
- Dimensions
- Signed
- Yes
- Location
- Gary Tatintsian Gallery, Dubai
Notes
Framed size: 94 1/10 × 76 × 2 2/5 in (239 × 193 × 6 cm). Unframed size: 90 × 72 in (228.6 × 183 cm). Signature via sticker label. Certificate of Authenticity included, issued by gallery. Part of a limited edition set. Image rights: Gary Tatintsian Gallery and the artist. The source painting by François Lemoyne (1724) is in the collection of the Louvre Museum, Paris.
Collectors of Vik Muniz
Artists in conversation
Sandy Skoglund
American · b. 1946
Skoglund constructs elaborately staged photographic tableaux using unconventional materials and obsessive repetition to create surreal images that are then photographed, mirroring Muniz's process of building images from unexpected substances to be captured and perceived as photography.
Gabriel Orozco
Mexican · b. 1962
Orozco similarly uses everyday and found materials to construct conceptually rich works that question perception and representation, often documenting ephemeral material arrangements through photography in a way that parallels Muniz's material to image transformation.
Thomas Demand
German · b. 1964
Demand meticulously constructs scenes from paper and cardboard before photographing and destroying them, sharing Muniz's core strategy of using an unconventional material construction process to produce a final photographic image that challenges the viewer's understanding of reality and representation.
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