Hercules Capturing Cerberus by Sebald Beham

Hercules Capturing Cerberus 1545

print, engraving

print

landscape

figuration

11_renaissance

history-painting

northern-renaissance

engraving

Sebald Beham's "Hercules Capturing Cerberus" is a 1545 engraving depicting the Greek hero Hercules, a son of Zeus, pulling the three-headed dog Cerberus from the Underworld. This small-scale print shows the muscular Hercules with a lion skin cloak, hauling Cerberus by a chain out of the ruins of a burning building. This print is a fine example of the German Renaissance's interest in classical mythology and the beauty of the human form. This scene is set against a background of a collapsing building and fire, conveying the intensity of the moment. The image is a testament to Beham's talent for detailed and nuanced depictions.

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minneapolisinstituteofart about 1 year ago

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The legendary strongman Hercules was born to the god Zeus and a mortal named Alcmena. This union so incensed Zeus’s wife Hera that she made life almost unbearable for the hero. Her ire resulted in him undertaking a series of tasks, known as the Twelve Labors of Hercules. Sebald Beham challenged his audience’s knowledge of the classical text, engraving three actual labors and nine scenes of Hercules’ exploits before and after his labors. In the final labor, the hero must secure three-headed Cerberus, guard dog of the Underworld. Pluto, god of the Underworld, agreed to let Hercules take Cerberus if he could subdue him with his bare hands.