Art, literature & history
The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades
1545
- Dating
- Exact year
- Held at
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Medium
- engraving
- Collection no.
- 1950.465
- Attribution
- By the artist
- Image rights
- CC0 1.0License details
Sebald Beham. The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades. The Cleveland Museum of Art. CC0 1.0. Compressed full-frame reproduction.
Collection: The Cleveland Museum of Art
About this artwork
The Labors of Hercules: Hercules Carrying the Columns of Gades — Sebald Beham. 1545.
Medium: engraving. Dimensions: .
Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.
According to myth, the Pillars of Hercules are the mountains flanking the Strait of Gibraltar. Here, Beham refers to another interpretation of the pillars as classical columns set up by Hercules in Gades—now the Spanish port of Cádiz—as a gateway to undiscovered realms. Two of Christopher Columbus’s expeditions to the Americas launched from Cádiz.
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 to collectors fascinated with miniature objects and curiosities.
Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.
Location checked Sep 10, 2026. This does not indicate whether the work is on display.