Hercules and Cerberus, from the series "The Labors of Hercules"
ヘラクレスとケルベロス（「ヘラクレスの難業」より）
- Birth Year
- ca. 1502
- Death Year
- 1555-61
- Date
- 1550
- Technique, Material, Format
- engraving
- Dimension
- 9.3 x 7.0 cm
- Category
- Print by Foreign Artist
- Inventory Number
- 91-PRF-002
This copperplate print is one of a series of 13 works depicting the labors of the Greek hero Hercules. According to the inscription across the bottom, the hero is about to kill the multi-headed dog Cerberus, which guards the entrance to the Underworld in Hades. This Hercules is overlaid with the figure of Christ overcoming death. Although it is a small work, it has a strong sense of depth, with the powerful body of the hero, the facial expression of the animal, and the liberated people in the background all vividly depicted. In the technique of engraving, the design is incised into the surface of a copperplate in lines and dots, one after the other, using a sharp tool called a burin. The artist, Heinrich Aldegrever, was a painter and engraver who worked in the town of Soest in western Germany. His small, popular copperplate prints remained popular among collectors from all over Europe until the 19th century.
(NAKAMURA Naoaki)