Axial Commons Image Treasury
Chiaroscuro woodcut of a nude muscular hero lifting a club above a struggling figure in a rocky cave, with shadowy onlookers and bones.

Hercules Killing Cacus

A muscular, nude hero raises a club overhead while grappling with a smaller, crouching figure sprawled across the foreground. Dense hatching and tonal wash in olive and ochre fill a rocky cave, where other figures and scattered bones lurk in shadow. The chiaroscuro woodcut shows layered printed color.

Artist
Hendrik Goltzius
Date
1588
Medium
Chiaroscuro woodcut from three blocks in black, yellow, and olive-green, on laid paper
Source
Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum)
Size
3336 × 4000 px
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Public domain · Smithsonian (Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum) releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1588).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Smithsonian Open Access)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Smithsonian Institution, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Español: Hércules matando a Caco, xilografía de claroscuro

Un héroe musculoso y desnudo levanta una porra sobre la cabeza mientras lucha con una figura más pequeña, agachada y tendida en primer plano. Trama densa y lavados de tono oliva y ocre llenan una cueva rocosa, donde otras figuras y huesos dispersos aparecen en la sombra. La estampa muestra color impreso en capas.

Português: Hércules matando Caco, xilogravura em claro-escuro

Um herói musculoso e nu ergue uma clava acima da cabeça enquanto luta com uma figura menor, agachada e estendida em primeiro plano. Hachuras densas e aguadas em tons oliva e ocre preenchem uma caverna rochosa, onde outras figuras e ossos dispersos surgem na sombra. A estampa mostra cor impressa em camadas.

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