Triumph over Death: Samson Carrying the Gate of Gaza | Hercules Slaying the Centaur Nessus, Maarten van Heemskerck, c. 1555
paint, h 46.6cm × w 15.9cm More details
Samson escaped his murderers by wrenching apart the city gate of Gaza hinges and all, and running up the hill. In Heemskerk’s time this scene was considered as the forerunner (prefiguration) of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. Hercules also triumphs over deathhere. He kills the centaur Nessus, whose poisonous blood would prove fatal to Hercules years later, resulting in his eternal life on Mount Olympus.
