Hercules Killing the Dragon Ladon, from "The Labors of Hercules"
Medium
Engraving
Dimensions
Sheet: 4 3/16 × 2 5/8 in. (10.7 × 6.7 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Henry Walters, 1917
Accession Number
17.37.128
Tags
Art Historical Context
In the bustling Renaissance workshops of 16th-century Germany, Heinrich Aldegrever crafted this intricate engraving, *Hercules Killing the Dragon Ladon*, part of his series *The Labors of Hercules* from 1550. Aldegrever, a master of the "Little Masters"—printmakers renowned for their virtuoso work on tiny scales—depicts the heroic climax of Hercules' eleventh labor. The demigod slays the multi-headed dragon Ladon, guardian of the Hesperides' golden apples, in a scene drawn from classical mythology popularized during the Renaissance revival of ancient tales. Measuring just 4 3/16 × 2 5/8 inche...
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...