Hercules Slaying the Nemean Lion – a Bronze sculpture at Schönbrunn Palace, Vienna

This is one of a pair of sculptures depicting Hercules in the lobby of the Schonbrunn Palace. The other depicts Hercules fighting the Dragon of the Hesperides
Here, Hercules wrestles with the lion which is below him and has its head twisted upwards with Hercules stretching its mouth.
A placard indicates that the sculptures were designed by Giovanni Giuliani and cast by Ubald Torri. They were made between 1714 and 1724. The placard also indicates that the hollow-cast sculptures served as hot air stoves and the hot air would come out of the mouth of the lion here and the dragon in the other work.