Hercules and the Nemean Lion (1500s or later): Art, History and Details

Hercules and the Nemean Lion (1500s or later) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

The original owner of this work would have understood that this scene referred to the entire story of Hercules, the demi-god who had to accomplish twelve labors. The lion is named after the city of Nemea, near Corinth, a monstrous beast sent by the goddess Hera to wreak havoc on the area. After killing the lion, Hercules wore his pelt, commonly seen in other representations of the hero.

Object facts

• Title: Hercules and the Nemean Lion
• Date: 1500s or later
• Culture: Italy or France, 16th century or later
• Type: Sculpture
• Technique: bronze
• Dimensions: Overall: 10.2 x 6 x 4 cm (4 x 2 3/8 x 1 9/16 in.)
• Collection: Sculpture
• Department: European Painting and Sculpture
• Accession number: 1975.111

Collection credit

Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Sherman E. Lee in memory of Paul Mallon

Further reading listed by the museum

• Wixom, William D. Renaissance Bronzes from Ohio Collections. 1975.
• Lee, Sherman E. "The Year in Review for 1975." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 63, no. 2 (1976): 31-71.
• Keith, D. Graeme, and Charles Avery. The Triumph of Humanism: A Visual Survey of the Decorative Arts of the Renaissance. [San Francisco]: Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, 1977.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.