Hercules and Cacus
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
1518
ink
From the collection of National Gallery of Art
This engraving shows a muscular man wrestling a giant, snake-like creature. The man stands on a rock, swinging a club, while the creature coils around him with tentacles and a scaly tail. The background is filled with jagged, cross-hatched lines that look like stormy clouds or rough terrain. The artist used tiny parallel lines to build up dark shadows, making the scene feel dramatic and textured. This is called cross-hatching. Look up cross-hatching to see how artists create depth with lines.
