The painting by Tischbein shows the motif of Hercules at the Crossroads also known as The Choice of Heracles. The youth Hercules is seated in the centre of the painting on a red cloth which is pulled up from the seat behind his back over his upper left arm and falls onto his left thigh, veiling his sex. To his right, a simply dressed woman strides towards Hercules from behind, extending a laurel wreath for coronation. She embodies virtue, which is rewarded with honour (laurel wreath). To the left, a second woman, richly adorned with a helmet and precious crest, strides towards Hercules. When asked what her name was, she replied, according to ancient legend, that her friends would call her Bliss, her enemies Depravity.