DÜRER, Albrecht
(b. 1471, Nürnberg, d. 1528, Nürnberg)

Hercules at the Crossroad

1498
Engraving, 323 x 223 mm
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Vasari already refers to this print as "engraved with the greatest mastery; Diana is striking a nymph seated on the lap of a satyr. Its perfection is the ultimate that can be achieved in this medium."

This print sums up Dürer's Italian experience. It represents a story related by Xenophon about the young Hercules deciding between Virtue and Pleasure.