The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 22, 2025

A horizontally oriented print in black ink on beige paper depicting Hercules, a muscular man, carrying two columns. Hercules steps to our right, back to us, with one column braced against his right shoulder and the other under his left arm. He walks through a city, domed buildings and columned arches extending across the background. Hatches and stippling shade the scene. Written across the upper center is “Gaditanas Columnas Statuit Hercules.”

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades

1545

Hans Sebald Beham

(German, 1500–1550)
Germany
engraving
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1950.465
Catalogue raisonné: Pauli 108.101 ; Bartsch VIII.158.103
Location: Not on view

Description

According to myth, the Pillars of Hercules are the mountains flanking the Strait of Gibraltar. Here, Beham refers to another interpretation of the pillars as classical columns set up by Hercules in Gades—now the Spanish port of Cádiz—as a gateway to undiscovered realms. Two of Christopher Columbus’s expeditions to the Americas launched from Cádiz. 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.
  • {{cite web|title=The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades|url=false|author=Hans Sebald Beham|year=1545|access-date=22 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1950.465