Hercules and Atlas, from The Labors of Hercules
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 1/4 × 2 3/4 in. (10.8 × 7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Felix M. Warburg and his family, 1941
Accession Number
41.1.119
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the intricate engraving *Hercules and Atlas, from The Labors of Hercules* (1550), German artist Heinrich Aldegrever captures a pivotal moment from classical mythology. Hercules, the mighty hero renowned for his twelve labors, briefly shoulders the weight of the heavens for Atlas, who ventures to retrieve the golden apples of the Hesperides. This small-scale work (4 1/4 × 2 3/4 in.) exemplifies Aldegrever's mastery as one of the "Little Masters," Renaissance engravers celebrated for their exquisite detail in miniature formats. Created through the meticulous technique of engraving—incising l...
About the Artist
Heinrich Aldegrever · 1502–1561
Heinrich Aldegrever, born in 1502 in Paderborn, Westphalia, to parents Herman and Katherine Trippenmeker—a family of clog-makers known by the dialect name Trippenmecker—emerged as a multifaceted artist in the German Renaissance. His early training remains undocumented, though he likely apprenticed in a Soest goldsmith's workshop after relocating there around 1525, where he joined the painters' gui...