Hercules, in profile, killing the Nemean lion with his arm around its neck, from 'The labors of Hercules'

Art Historical Context

Sebald Beham’s 1548 engraving captures Hercules in the midst of his first labor, throttling the invincible Nemean lion with his bare hands. The compact scene, only slightly larger than a playing card, belongs to the artist’s series “The Labors of Hercules,” which retold classical myths for a Northern European audience newly fascinated by ancient stories. Beham, one of the so-called “Little Masters” of Nuremberg, specialized in such miniature prints that rewarded close looking with astonishing detail. Printed in two states, this impression reveals the fine, controlled lines typical of engraving, a technique that allowed Beham to suggest the lion’s taut muscles and Hercules’s concentrated strength within a space barely five centimeters wide. Small enough to be collected in albums or tucked into books, these works brought heroic narratives into private hands during the Renaissance, when printed images were becoming a primary means of sharing art and ideas across Europe. Today in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection, the print reminds viewers how Renaissance artists transformed monumental myths into intimate, portable treasures.

About the Artist

Sebald Beham · 1500–1550

Sebald Beham (1500–1550), a pioneering German printmaker and painter born in Nuremberg, emerged as one of the most prolific artists of the Northern Renaissance. The elder brother of fellow artist Barthel Beham, he grew up in a milieu steeped in artistic tradition, though details of his early training remain sparsely documented. Recorded as a journeyman painter (Malergeselle) by 1521 and a master w...