Purgatory

c. 1480

German 15th Century

Associated Names
German 15th Century

Artist

This is a painting of an angel reaching down to figures enveloped in flames. The image portrays an angelic figure extending a hand toward a group of anguished figures in a fiery setting. The figures show expressions of distress, with some hands clasped in gestures of supplication. The background is minimal, focusing on the interaction and the contrast between the flames and the angel's attire. This artwork is done in the style of medieval religious iconography.

Media Options

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Artwork overview

  • Medium

    woodcut, hand-colored in orange, red lake, green, yellow, and gold

  • Credit Line

    Rosenwald Collection

  • Accession Number

    1943.3.638

  • Catalogue Raisonné

    Schreiber, no. 1834, State (?)

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(Anton W.M. Mensing [1866 – 1936], Amsterdam). (Sotheby's, December 18, 1936, lot 228); purchased 18 December 1936 by Lessing J. Rosenwald, Jenkintown, PA (L1760b and L1932d); gift to NGA, 1943.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1965

  • Fifteenth-Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the Collection of the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 1965-1966, no. 264, repro.

Bibliography

1926

  • Schreiber, Wilhelm Ludwig. Handbuch de Holz- und Metailschnitte des XV Jahrhunderts. 8 vols. Leipzig: Verlag Karl W. Hierseman, 1926-1930.

1965

  • Field, Richard S. Fifteenth Century Woodcuts and Metalcuts from the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.. Exh. cat. Washington: National Gallery of Art, 1965: no. 264: no. 264.

Wikidata ID

Q64953123

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