Hercules

To the north of the White Pavilion, on a small square, stands a stone statue of Hercules. It is most likely a 18th century sculpture, which, until recently, did not have a head. The head was recently reconstructed by a sculptor and conservator, Wiesław Winkler. The artist copied the facial features of a Royal Łazienki employee – Stanisław Kalinowski.

The sculpture depicts the hero fighting the Nemean Lion. This theme, popular in Ancient and Early Modern art, shows one of the twelve famous labours of Hercules. Hercules killed a lion wreaking havoc near Nemea with his bare hands, and took its skin, which became his outfit. The author of the sculpture put a lot of effort to carefully model the musculature on the naked body of the mighty man, who seems to effortlessly tear apart the jaws of the animal.