The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre (1548): Art, History and Details

The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre (1548) 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:

Driven insane by the shirt soaked in poisonous blood, Hercules builds a funeral pyre to cremate himself alive. He enlists a passing shepherd to light the pyre; Hercules rewards the shepherd with the gift of his weapons. 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 on his Pyre
• Date: 1548
• Creator attribution: Hans Sebald Beham (German, 1500–1550)
• Culture: Germany
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1950.470

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.