id: 127821 accession number: 1950.464 share license status: CC0 url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1950.464 updated: 2022-01-04 15:41:08.275000 The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Killing the Lernean Hydra, 1545. Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500-1550). Engraving; The Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection 1950.464 title: The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Killing the Lernean Hydra title in original language: series: series in original language: creation date: 1545 creation date earliest: 1545 creation date latest: 1545 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 107.100 ; Bartsch VIII.18.102 --- 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: Hercules and his nephew Iolaus work together to defeat the multiheaded hydra of Lerna. To stop the hydra from regrowing its heads, Iolaus torches each neck as Hercules removes the head with his club. Meanwhile, a lobster aids the hydra by attacking Hercules’s heel. According to legend, Hercules dipped his arrowheads in the dead hydra’s blood to make them poisonous. 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/1950.464/1950.464_web.jpg print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.464/1950.464_print.jpg full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1950.464/1950.464_full.tif