Artwork Page for The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre

Details / Information for The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre

1548

Hans Sebald Beham

(German, 1500–1550)
Culture
Germany
Medium
engraving
Credit Line
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1950.470
Catalogue raisonné
Pauli 109
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print

Description

Driven insane by the shirt soaked in poisonous blood, Hercules builds a funeral pyre to cremate himself alive. He enlists a passing shepherd to light the pyre; Hercules rewards the shepherd with the gift of his weapons. Beham was one of several German printmakers referred to today as the “Little Masters.” They established their artistic prowess by engraving remarkably small prints, appealing to collectors fascinated with miniature objects and curiosities.
A horizontally oriented print in black ink depicts Hercules, a nude man with a light skin tone, reclining on a flaming pyre at left as smoke rises. To our right, Philoctetes, also nude with a light skin tone, stands facing left, leaning on a staff with a bow and quiver at his feet. An inscribed banner hangs at the top, while text below reads "PHILOCRASSES." A distant city sits along a riverbank.

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre

1548

Hans Sebald Beham

(German, 1500–1550)
Germany

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