Hercules and the Cretan Bull c. 1514 - 1515

Giovanni Antonio da Brescia created this engraving of Hercules and the Cretan Bull in Italy sometime between 1500 and 1525. The image depicts a moment from the classical myth of Hercules, specifically his seventh labor. We see the hero, nude and muscular, carrying the captured bull on his shoulders. The scene is charged with notions of strength, conquest, and the imposition of order over untamed nature. This print was made in a cultural context deeply influenced by the rediscovery of classical antiquity. Artists looked to Greek and Roman models for inspiration, seeking to revive their aesthetic ideals. The story of Hercules, embodying heroic virtue, would have resonated with the elite class, and provided rulers with ways of visually representing their power. To understand this image, we can look to printed books of mythology as well as the artistic traditions of the Italian Renaissance. Art is deeply intertwined with the social and institutional forces of its time.