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

- By: Maarten van Heemskerck (Heemskerk, 1498–1574)
- Date: c. 1555
- Medium: panel, oil paint (paint)
- Classification: painting
- Dimensions: height 46.8 cm x width 15.1 cm
- Credit line: Gift of B.P. Haboldt, in memory of Peter and Kitty Haboldt-Mutters
- Museum: [Rijksmuseum](https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en/collection/object/SK-A-5059--83f6016f3b2e6f74638dd7aa129a65cd)
- Rights: [Public Domain Mark](http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/)
- Picture: https://iiif.micr.io/EMWgM/full/!1920,1080/0/default.jpg
- Who can see it: Little Ones profiles and older (museums give no ratings; placed by Invisible Network from the museum's own words)

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.