The Descent of Christ into Limbo

c. 1561

Pieter van der Heyden, after Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Associated Names
Pieter van der Heyden

Artist, Netherlandish, active c. 1551/1572

Hieronymus Cock

Publisher, Netherlandish, 1518 - 1570

Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Artist After, Netherlandish, c. 1525/1530 - 1569

The image displays swirling lines and distorted shapes, creating a complex and abstract composition. In the center, a circular form surrounds a figure. Around this, strange creatures and forms with familiar elements create an otherworldly landscape. The lower left features a large fish-like object and a massive gaping mouth consuming figures. At the top, curved structures and organic lines connect to surreal imagery. The scene combines elements resembling creatures and objects in an abstract way.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    engraving on laid paper

  • Credit Line

    Gift of Hope and Julian Edison

  • Dimensions

    plate: 23.5 × 29.5 cm (9 1/4 × 11 5/8 in.)
    sheet: 25.5 × 31.8 cm (10 1/16 × 12 1/2 in.)

  • Accession Number

    2019.114.1

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    New Hollstein, no. 7, State i/ii

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Rev. John Burleigh James [1811-1891], Shropshire, England; Hope and Julian Edison [1929-2017], St. Louis; gift to the NGA, 2019.

Associated Names

Bibliography

1993

  • The New Hollstein Dutch & Flemish Etchings, Engravings and Woodcuts, 1450-1700. (Pieter Bruegel, Nadine Orenstein author). Rotterdam: Sound & Vision Interactive, 1996-, no. 7, state i/ii.

Inscriptions

in plate, in image, at bottom center: .PAME. [monogram of Pieter van der Heyden]; in plate, in image, at lower right: .H. cock excu.; in plate, in image, at lower right: Bruegel Invent; in plate, in margin below image: TOBLITE Ȏ PORTE, CAPITA VESTEA, ATTOLLIMINI FORES SEMPITERNE, ET INGREDIETVR REX ILLE GLORIOSVS (free version of Psalm 24:9: Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.) [translation from Nadine Orenstein, ed., Pieter Bruegel the Elder: Drawings and Prints. Exhibition catalogue. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001, p. 210.]; on verso, in graphite at lower center: Van Bast. 119; on verso, in graphite at bottom center: DTIIADBH

Markings

Rev. John Burleigh James (Lugt 1425)

Watermarks

present but not identified

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