Triumph over Evil: Samson Rending the Lion | Pluto and Cerberus

Maarten van Heemskerck

c. 1550 - c. 1560

oil on panel

Rijksmuseum

A muscular man is shown tearing apart a lion, with a smaller lion or dog at his feet. The scene is rendered in a monochromatic palette. 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.