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Christ's Descent into Hell

Follower of Hieronymus Bosch Netherlandish
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 613

Bosch’s fiery hell scenes were enormously popular throughout Europe in the sixteenth century, inspiring many imitators. A vast, desolate landscape with a burning city at the right and a bone-littered plain at the left is the setting for this nightmarish vision in which Christ breaks down the gates of hell to rescue the souls of the just. Gesturing in supplication toward him, Adam and Eve kneel on top of a ruined tower. Behind them, figures from the Hebrew Bible climb the winding stairs out of the depths of hell, among them Abraham and Isaac with the sacrificial ram and Noah with a model of the ark.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Christ's Descent into Hell
  • Artist: Follower of Hieronymus Bosch (Netherlandish, second quarter 16th century)
  • Medium: Oil on wood
  • Dimensions: 21 x 46 in. (53.3 x 116.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1926
  • Object Number: 26.244
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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The Temptation of St. Anthony, Hieronymus Bosch Netherlandish, Etching and engraving
The Temptation of St. Anthony
Multiple artists/makers
1561
The Temptation of St. Anthony, Hieronymus Bosch Netherlandish, Etching
The Temptation of St. Anthony
Hieronymus Bosch
Jan and Lucas van Doetecum
n.d.
Christ on the Way to Calvary, Hieronymus Bosch Netherlandish, Engraving
Christ on the Way to Calvary
Multiple artists/makers
ca. 1560
The Adoration of the Magi, Hieronymus Bosch Netherlandish, Oil and gold on oak
The Adoration of the Magi
Hieronymus Bosch
ca. 1475
The Adoration of the Magi, Quinten Massys Netherlandish, Oil on wood
The Adoration of the Magi
Quinten Massys
1526

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