This design for an architectural fantasy or stage set takes as its focus a fountain with Hercules and his nephew (and chariot-driver) Iolaus wrestling the water-serpent, Hydra. At left and right are equestrian groups on pedestals. The fountain is set in a courtyard before a palace with a double staircase. At left is a round temple and a rusticated pavilion, while at right is a crenellated structure, a building with two towers flanking an arch and balcony, and a Cornithian column surmounted by a putto with a wreath. The scene has not been connected to any performance or project, and some scholars, including Jerome de la Gorce, have expressed doubts that it is by a French artist.
Mathews, Alister, former owner.
Oenslager, Donald, 1902-1975, former owner.