formularioRDF
The itinerary <em>TITULORECORRIDO</em> has been successfully created. Now you can add in works from the Collection browser
<em>TITULOOBRA</em> added to <em>TITULORECORRIDO</em> itinerary

Close Continuar a ficha de la obra Continuar a ficha de la obra
02-06-2026
Peter Paul Rubens

Siegen, Westphalia (Germany), 1577 - Antwerp (Belgium), 1640

Peter Paul Rubens See author's file

Hercules and Cerberus

1636 - 1637. Oil on panel.
Room 079

The mythological hero fights against the fearful three-headed dog that guards the Underworld while two figures, possibly the Underworld´s titular gods, Pluto and Proserpina, watch the scene in terror. Rubens was directly inspired by Ovid´s Metamorphoses in his depiction of this test of Hercules, though it is also described in other classical texts, such as Homer´s Iliad and Odyssey. This is one of the most expressive of all the sketches made for the projected decoration of the Torre de la Parada. It was developed on canvas on several occasions by at least three of Rubens´ assistants.

Multimedia

Technical data

Related artworks

The Rape of Europe
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
The Death of Hyacinth
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Vertumnus and Pomona
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Deucalion and Pyrrha
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Diana and her Nymphs hunting
Oil on oak panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Cephalus and Procris
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Prometheus
Oil on panel, 1636 - 1637
Peter Paul Rubens
Inventory number
P002043
Author
Peter Paul Rubens
Title
Hercules and Cerberus
Date
1636 - 1637
Technique
Oil
Support
Panel
Dimension
Height: 28 cm; Width: 31.6 cm
Series
Torre de la Parada
Provenance
Manuel Álvarez de Toledo y Lesparre, 12th Duke of Pastrana, 1886; bequest of María Dionisia Vives y Zires, Duchess of Pastrana, 1889
Entry date
1889

Bibliography +

Rooses, Max, Rubens. S. VIe et Ses Oeuvres, Flammarion, Paris, 1903, pp. 596-599.

Alpers, Svetlana, The Decoration of The Torre de la Parada, Corpus rubenianum Ludwig Burchard T IX, Amberes, 1971, pp. 219.

Díaz Padrón, Matías, Museo del Prado. Catálogo de pinturas. Escuela flamenca, Museo del Prado; Patronato Nacional de Museos, Madrid, 1975, pp. 303.

Held, Julius S., The oil sketches of Peter Paul Rubens : a critical catalogue..., The National Gallery of Art, Princeton, 1980, pp. 278-279.

Robels, Hella, Frans Snyders. Stibellen-Und Tiermaler 1579-1657, Deutscher Kunstverlag, Munich, 1989, pp. 349.

Díaz Padrón, Matías, El siglo de Rubens en el Museo del Prado: catálogo razonado, Prensa Ibérica, Barcelona, 1995, pp. 1036.

Vergara, Alejandro, The Presence of Rubens in Spain, I-II, A Bell & Howell Company, Ann Arbor, 1999, pp. 550.

Posada Kubissa, Teresa, Rubens en la colección Pastrana-Infantado, Boletín del Museo del Prado, XXI, 2003, pp. 24-40.

García Gual, C., 'Relato mítico y momento pictórico. Rubens y Ovidio'. En Historias inmortales, Barcelona, 2003, pp. 281-298.

Classical mythology in the Netherlands in the age of Renaiss..., Peeters, Amberes, 2009.

Maurer, Gudrun, Goya: lo bello y lo recóndito, La belleza encerrada: de Fra Angelico a Fortuny, Museo Nacional del Prado, Madrid, 2013, pp. 199.

Georgievska-Shine, Aneta Silver, Larry, Rubens, Velázquez, and the King of Spain, Ashgate, Surrey, 2014, pp. 95-97 Lám.23 fg.4.5.

Vergara, Alejandro, 'P.P.Rubens. Serie de la Torre de la Parada', En: Rubens pintor de bocetos, Museo Nacional del Prado,, Madrid, 2018, pp. 208-222 n.68.

Other inventories +

Inv. Nuevas Adquisiciones (iniciado en 1856). Núm. 863.
Autor P.P. Rubens / 863. Un cuadro titulado 'El ultimo trabajo de Hércules' / Alto 0,29 ancho 0,32.

Inscriptions +

No30/Coleccion/Pastrana
Handwritten label in black ink. Back, central area

T.863.
Inscribed in blue. Front, lower right corner

A-5
Inscribed. Back, Upper central area

MUSÉES ROYAUZ DES BEAUX-ARTS DE BELGIQUE/9, RUE DU MUSÉE-BRUXELLES/EXPOSITION ESQUISSE DE RUBENS/Titre: Hercule et Cerberè 2043/Propriétaire: Madrid Prado/Adresse: Espagne
Handwritten label. Back, central area

B-51
Inscribed with chalk. Back, central area

Exhibitions +

Rubens. Picturing Antiquity
Malibú
10.11.2021 - 24.01.2022

Rubens, pintor de bocetos
08.09.2018 - 13.01.2019

Rubens. Painter of Sketches
Madrid
10.04.2018 - 05.08.2018

Captive Beauty. Fra Angelico to Fortuny
Madrid
21.05.2013 - 10.11.2013

Rubens
Madrid
05.11.2010 - 23.01.2011

Velázquez, Rubens, Claudio de Lorena y la pintura en la corte de Felipe IV
Bonn
07.10.1999 - 23.01.2000

Location +

Room 079 (On Display)

Expuesto
Update date: 02-06-2026 | Registry created on 28-04-2015

Visor 360

Drag with the cursor to rotate the piece

Other works by Peter Paul Rubens

Print on demand

Print artworks available in our catalogue in high quality and your preferred size and finish.

Image archive

Request artworks available in our catalogue in digital format.

Up