Hercules at the Crossroad
1498/1499
Medium
engraving on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet (trimmed to image): 32.5 × 22.3 cm (12 13/16 × 8 3/4 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Rosenwald Collection
Accession Number
1943.3.3482
Art Historical Context
Behold Albrecht Dürer's *Hercules at the* (1498/1499), a masterful engraving on laid paper that captures a pivotal moment in classical mythology. Measuring 32.5 × 22.3 cm, this print depicts the demigod Hercules standing at a symbolic fork in the road, choosing between steep path of Virtue—personified by a noble, ethereal figure—and the seductive, easy route of Vice, adorned in luxurious attire. Dürer, a leading figure of the Northern Renaissance, drew from the ancient tale recounted by Xenophon, adapting it to Renaissance ideals of moral choice and human striving. As one of Dürer's early mas...
About the Artist
Albrecht Dürer · 1471–1528
Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528) stands as the preeminent figure of the Northern Renaissance and arguably the most influential artist in the history of printmaking. Born in Nuremberg on May 21, 1471, and dying in the same city on April 6, 1528, Dürer revolutionized the status of the artist in Northern Europe, transforming printmaking from a commercial craft into an independent fine art and establishing ...