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Hercules and Cacus
Hendrick Goltzius1588
The Cleveland Museum of Art
Cleveland, United States
This chiaroscuro woodcut portrays Hercules’s heroic battle against Cacus, a murderous, flame-breathing giant. Cacus has fallen onto the bones of his victims. As a last defense, he blows fire at Hercules, who heaves his club overhead to strike a deadly blow. Goltzius portrayed the lead-up to the fight in the background, where Hercules rolls away a boulder at the cavern’s entrance, setting free a small herd of cows that Cacus had stolen. The vivid color combination of yellow and olive green helps energize this dramatic moment.
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Details
- Title: Hercules and Cacus
- Creator: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
- Date Created: 1588
- Physical Dimensions: Sheet: 42.8 x 33.9 cm (16 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.); Image: 41 x 33.2 cm (16 1/8 x 13 1/16 in.)
- Provenance: Joseph-Marius Agassis (1811-1889), Lyons, script (Lugt 69), verso, lower right, in pen and purple ink. purchased from (David Tunick, Inc.)
- Type: Print
- Rights: CC0
- External Link: https://clevelandart.org/art/1975.60
- Medium: chiaroscuro woodcut (in black, green, and yellow)
- State of work: IV/IV
- Inscriptions: center left, in block (green): A°88 HG[in monogram]oltzius Inve.[sidesways] ; across bottom, letterpress: Ghedruckt t'Amsterdam by Willem Ianffen in de vergulde Sonnewyser. ; lower right, in graphite: 6 ; VERSO, upper left, in graphite: 4 ; by Joseph-Marius Agassis, lower right, in pen and purple ink: [monogram, Lugt 69]
- Department: Prints
- Culture: Netherlands, 16th century
- Credit Line: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
- Accession Number: 1975.60
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