Minneapolis Institute of Art
Hercules Fighting the Centaurs, From the Labors of Hercules
Sebald BehamLinkedCulture matchlcp-5723f6604697
- Date
- 1542
- Medium
- Engraving
- Department
- European Art
- Institution
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
- Object ID
- 120474
From the Minneapolis Institute of Art record
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. While on his mission to seize the Erymanthian boar, Hercules angered some centaurs by drinking their wine. Art historian Andrew Stevens, whose writings helped explain these prints, wondered whether this print could symbolize the battle between humankind’s rational and animal natures. Germany, Europe
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Provenance & credit
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- Credit line
- Gift of Elizabeth, Julie, and Catherine Andrus in memory of John and Marion Andrus
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