Hercules Capturing Cerberus by Sebald Beham

Hercules Capturing Cerberus 1545

0:00

print, engraving

print

landscape

figuration

11_renaissance

history-painting

northern-renaissance

engraving

Dimensions: 2 × 3 in. (5.08 × 7.62 cm) (sheet)

Sebald Beham's "Hercules Capturing Cerberus" is a tiny woodcut made in 1545, a period marked by religious and social upheaval in Germany. Beham, known for his involvement with the radical wing of the Reformation, brings a subversive eye to this classical subject. Here, Hercules is not just a hero, but a figure caught in the act of subduing Cerberus, the multi-headed dog guarding the underworld. Beham was once banished from Nuremberg for his radical beliefs, he captures the tension between power and subjugation, perhaps echoing the artist's own struggles with authority. The choice to depict Hercules in such a visceral, strained moment suggests a critique of unchecked power. This piece invites us to consider the relationship between mythology, personal experience, and societal critique. What does it mean to wrestle with one’s demons, literal or metaphorical? "Hercules Capturing Cerberus" becomes more than a mythological scene; it's a reflection on the artist’s world and an echo of our own battles.

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minneapolisinstituteofart over 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.