The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Receiving the Garment Steeped in Nessus' Blood
Medium
engraving
Classification
Department
Prints
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis B. Williams Collection
Accession Number
1950.459
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
Perceiving the princess Iole as a rival, Hercules’s wife Deianeira soaks a shirt in the blood of the centaur Nessus and sends it to her husband. Deianeira believes the blood is a love potion that will secure Hercules’s undying affection, but it is actually poisonous. Here, a servant named Lichas delivers the toxic shirt. 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 t...