id: 127816 accession number: 1950.459 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.459 updated: 2022-01-04 15:41:05.267000 The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Receiving the Garment Steeped in Nessus' Blood, 1542. Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500-1550). Engraving; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1950.459 title: The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Receiving the Garment Steeped in Nessus' Blood title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1542 creation date earliest: 1542 creation date latest: 1542 current location: creditline: Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection copyright: --- culture: Germany, 16th century technique: engraving department: Prints collection: PR - Engraving type: Print find spot: catalogue raisonne: Pauli 108 --- CREATORS * Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500-1550) - artist --- measurements: state of the work: edition of the work: support materials: inscriptions: --- CURRENT EXHIBITIONS --- LEGACY EXHIBITIONS --- PROVENANCE --- fun fact: digital description: wall description: Perceiving the princess Iole as a rival, Hercules’s wife Deianeira soaks a shirt in the blood of the centaur Nessus and sends it to her husband. Deianeira believes the blood is a love potion that will secure Hercules’s undying affection, but it is actually poisonous. Here, a servant named Lichas delivers the toxic shirt. 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. --- RELATED WORKS --- CITATIONS --- IMAGES web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.459/1950.459_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.459/1950.459_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.459/1950.459_full.tif