14. Hans Sebald Beham
(1500-1550)

Hercules Battling the Centaurs (Aerumnae Herculis)

(click on image to print)
Beham, Hercules Battling Centaurs

Hercules Battling the Centaurs (Aerumnae Herculis)

Engraving, 1542, 51 x 79 mm., Bartsch 96, Pauli 98 v/v, from The Labors of Hercules. An exceedingly fine impression on laid paper with thread margins all around. The incident is not one of the classical twelve labors, but another adventure in which Hercules opens a cask of wine, the scent of which inebriates the centaurs who attack him. Oddly, Hercules here has the assistance of other men in his battle, not at all the usual telling of the story. The figures are so beautifully molded as to make the print resemble a bas relief.