Art, literature & history
The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre
1548
- Dating
- Exact year
- Held at
- The Cleveland Museum of Art
- Medium
- engraving
- Collection no.
- 1950.470
- Attribution
- By the artist
- Image rights
- CC0 1.0License details
Sebald Beham. The Labors of Hercules: Hercules on his Pyre. 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 on his Pyre — Sebald Beham. 1548.
Medium: engraving. Dimensions: .
Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.
Driven insane by the shirt soaked in poisonous blood, Hercules builds a funeral pyre to cremate himself alive. He enlists a passing shepherd to light the pyre; Hercules rewards the shepherd with the gift of his weapons.
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.