1548
From the collection of Cleveland Museum of Art
The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre is a 1548 by Sebald Beham, a Renaissance work, held at Cleveland Museum of Art.
This print shows Hercules on a burning pyre, leaning on his club. Flames lick his legs as a small eagle flies near his head. His face stays calm, even as the fire grows. Beham made tiny but detailed prints. He packed big stories into small spaces. Here, Hercules faces death without fear. Check out Hans Sebald Beham’s other prints in The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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…
Read the full account in the museum source.
Sebald Beham (1500–1550) was a German painter and printmaker, mainly known for his very small engravings.
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