The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of December 21, 2025
The Labors of Hercules: Hercules and the Columns of Gades
1545
Location: Not on view
Description
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. Here, Beham has packed 12 larger-than-life stories of the mighty Hercules into tiny prints. The series includes three of the 12 labors Hercules performed as penance for slaying his children in a fit of madness: Strangling the Nemean Lion, Killing the Lernean Hydra, and Dragging Cerberus from the Underworld. The other scenes depict tales from his life and the events preceding his death. The son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena, Hercules was both man and god. His saga of moral and physical trials made him one of the most popular classical heroes in Renaissance art.- Gods and Heroes: Ancient Legends in Renaissance Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-December 31, 2017).16th Century German Engravings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 13, 1938-January 22, 1939).Exhibition of Prints by the Little Masters: Prints form the Museum Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 23-April 24, 1938).
- {{cite web|title=The Labors of Hercules: Hercules and the Columns of Gades|url=false|author=Hans Sebald Beham|year=1545|access-date=21 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1923.120.8