1title: Roman Gem with Intaglio with Bellerophon and Pegasos - Walters 421317
artist:
Anonymous (Roman Empire)date: early 1st century
medium: sardonyx, gold
dimensions: Bezel size cm height=2.6 width=1.8 ; Mount size cm height=3.1 width=2.3 depth=0.64
current location: Museum purchase, 1942
credit: Walters Art Museum:
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Info about artworkdescription: Gem engraving was a major art form in ancient Greece and Rome. Precious stones were thought to have healing and protective powers and were used as amulets and seals as well as jewelry. Engraved or incised gems, known as intaglios, were often decorated with winged creatures, such as the sphinx and the griffin. The immortal winged horse Pegasos sprang from Medusa's neck when she was decapitated by the hero Perseus. While Pegasos was drinking from a spring at Corinth, the hero Bellerophon tamed him with a bridle given to him by the goddess Athena.
license:Public domain
title: Hans Sebald Beham The Labors of Hercules- Hercules Abducting Iole - 1923.120.3 - Cleveland Museum of Art
artist:
Hans Sebald Behamdate: 1544
medium: technique engraving
current location: institution:Cleveland Museum of Art
source: link
credit: link
description:
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. Here, Beham has packed 12 larger-than-life stories of the mighty Hercules into tiny prints. The series includes three of the 12 labors Hercules performed as penance for slaying his children in a fit of madness: Strangling the Nemean Lion, Killing the Lernean Hydra, and Dragging Cerberus from the Underworld. The other scenes depict tales from his life and the events preceding his death. The son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena, Hercules was both man and god. His saga of moral and physical trials made him one of the most popular classical heroes in Renaissance art.license:
CC0
