Hercules Conquering Cacus ("Ercules")

c. 1496

Albrecht Dürer

Associated Names
Albrecht Dürer

Artist, German, 1471 - 1528

This is a drawing of a scene with several figures. Two central muscular figures are engaging in combat, one with a weapon. The backdrop includes trees and a cityscape. The fine lines and shading create movement and texture, especially in the garments and scenery. The fallen figures' armor and the trees' style add to the scene's tension.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Dimensions

    sheet (trimmed to block): 39.2 × 28.1 cm (15 7/16 × 11 1/16 in.)

  • Accession Number

    1953.6.62

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Meder, no. 238

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Friedrich August II, King of Saxony [1797-1854], Dresden (Lugt 971). (Richard H. Zinser, Forest Hills, NY); purchased by Lessing J. Rosenwald [1891-1979], Jenkintown, PA (Lugt 1932d), 1952; gift to NGA, 1953.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1964

  • Smith College Museum of Art, Northampton, MA, 1964, no catalogue.

Bibliography

1932

  • Meder, Joseph. Dürer-Katalog; ein Handbuch über Albrecht Dürers Stiche, Radierungen, Holzschnitte, deren Zustände, Ausgaben und Wasserzeichen. Vienna: Verlag Gilhofer und Ranschburg, 1932. Reprint. New York: Da Capo Press, 1971.

2001

  • Schoch, Rainer, Mattihas Mende, and Anna Scherbaum. Albrecht Dürer: Das druckgraphische Werk. Munich, 2001: vol. 2: no. 105.

Watermarks

large imperial orb

Wikidata ID

Q18339646

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