Hercules and Iolaus Slaying the Hydra

Watermark: indecipherable with a coat of arms (?).
Dorigny entered Simon Vouet's atelier in 1637 and remained the master's most trusted assistant for twelve years. In the late 1640s, after Vouet painted the lower gallery in the luxurious residence of the chancellor Pierre Séguier, Dorigny produced a series of highly finished drawings replicating the compositions to serve as models for engravings he published in 1651. These exquisitely finished drawings record the lost canvases by Vouet and also highlight the important role played by assistants in disseminating the artist's work done for private residences. This scene depicts the second labor of Hercules, in which the hero, together with his nephew Iolaus, journeyed to the mythical Lake Lerna to fight the dreaded water serpent. -- Exhibition Label, From "Poussin, Claude, and French Drawing in the Classical Age"