The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades

Cleveland Museum of Art

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades

Hans Sebald BehamLinkedCulture matchlcp-5eb48064f74e

Date
1545
Medium
engraving
Culture
Germany
Department
Prints
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
127822

According to myth, the Pillars of Hercules are the mountains flanking the Strait of Gibraltar. Here, Beham refers to another interpretation of the pillars as classical columns set up by Hercules in Gades—now the Spanish port of Cádiz—as a gateway to undiscovered realms. Two of Christopher Columbus’s expeditions to the Americas launched from Cádiz. 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.

View at Cleveland Museum of Art ↗

The authoritative record is held by Cleveland Museum of Art. LinkedCulture surfaces this object and its connections; it does not alter institutional metadata.

Get printable QR codes

Open QR codes for this object page and the museum record. They stay collapsed until needed.

Open this page QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.RFOd4yY-aMTGSfso.PprlCI5kNC3VDsmv0NZCUTc_O5P8bsIdxsyEvEhea8iaSGtWEW5BZ_ED-ThnAgWPthyC2gnXH3mJK45s7kQ94GXN0uzFnuj90K31I_s5aRD1qwTvThWRqWjiy76EVHXuuBEHAK-c7gJFjyqQPJzDzKvQe_wOgRF3VafLrzxQjBNgUVXDe4by8qYfYugFIqdA8Lu-WJCVeD-aihEwRvZKFYFj4LdQFtgzOLsarqt7oeulVUHS2ajzropBKuWJmrrbTN54EAYS6T0Dj6xbtpToB7a5uwfQb-kC-CPwCnDzPp_3g4kaiASee at Cleveland Museum of Art QR destination: https://linkedculture.org/q/q1.H5b-F_-0Ie_Wkq_D.2IJgMVjyD2mEay3Sbl4B5Sof4ywJtFQHtPSVAwH8wIGEIik3Ttm9qaJVf6dBbPAgtJBzwDnb6hVl-ce6mK78wO7-lTTcMm3C7huRQvKwvjwONuSYnfIdwbVp6RYQdJie3R2Z-NE2I-ftgWRA0odOEDMiGRC-uJPKZSScUx9mwvu_1kVtQtxqyUEe2QayBWeymMbL0GrFUmVXR0-LmjyjkhvoPrpgVouxCY3pw9hLiQuOGK01wf7U0DeWNpqVQsEzMgwq-rwpqIUhMe6jWFnaG9spGrL-mT-URElNTZnLmQ
Open this page
See at Cleveland Museum of Art

Provenance & credit

As published by the source institution. Coverage varies — not every institution's open-data feed includes ownership history.

Credit line
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection

Related across collections

Semantically similar works from Cleveland Museum of Art and other institutions.