Descent into Limbo
1475/80
Medium
Engraving in black ink on cream laid paper
Dimensions
42.2 × 33.4 cm (16 5/8 × 13 3/16 in.)
Classification
engraving
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
4310
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
In this deeply engraved, drawinglike print, Christ strides over the demolished gates of hell, carrying a victory standard. On the right, Adam and Eve are seen with their righteous son Abel, while Cain has been left in hell for murdering his brother. The demons that represent the torments of hell herald Christ’s arrival. These devils, with their scales and reptilian tails, resemble dragons, and have elflike ears. They seem to be flying, one of them distractedly doing acrobatic tricks instead of b...
About the Artist
Andrea Mantegna · 1431–1506
Andrea Mantegna was born around 1431 near Padua, in the Venetian Republic, the son of a carpenter. At approximately age eleven he was taken into the workshop of the Paduan painter and antiquities collector Francesco Squarcione, who enrolled him as a guild member and immersed him in the study of Roman sculpture and classical Latin. Though Mantegna later claimed that Squarcione had exploited his lab...