The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades (1545): Art, History and Details

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades (1545) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500–1550).

The work and its context

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

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.

Object facts

• Title: The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades
• Date: 1545
• Creator attribution: Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500–1550)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1950.465

Collection credit

Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection

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.