Public domain
Triumph over Evil: Samson Tearing the Lion | Pluto and Cerberus
From the collection of Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Free to download, adapt and use — no permission needed.
About this work
The young, beardless Samson ripped a ferocious lion apart with just his bare hands. In Heemskerck’s time, this story was regarded as the forerunner (prefiguration) of Christ’s victory over the devil. Pluto, recognizable by his three-headed dog Cerberus, was the guardian of the underworld in classical mythology. In the 16th century he was also identified with the devil from Christianity.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam’s own descriptionCredit lineTriomf over het kwaad: Simson verscheurt de leeuw | Pluto en Cerberus. c. 1550 - c. 1560. Maarten van Heemskerck. Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam. Public domain.
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