Hercules and Omphale
1532
Lucas Cranach the Elder loved flipping the script on classical myths, and this 1532 masterpiece is a perfect example of his wit. Here, the mighty hero Hercules is completely humiliated, dressed in women's clothing and forced to spin wool while Queen Omphale and her ladies playfully torment him. Notice the dead birds hanging in the background—a cheeky symbol of the hero's lost masculinity and captured pride. Cranach painted this for a German audience that loved these moralizing tales about the dangers of falling under a woman's spell, turning a powerful god into a helpless fool.
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