Flemish Master, around 1600 Allegory of the divine judgement

Flemish Master, around 1600
Allegory of the divine judgement

In the centre of the composition stands the risen Christ on his tomb, surrounded by Death and the Devil as well as numerous allegorical figures. Hell opens up below him, with the figure of a snake-haired Fury standing out in front of its flames, screaming at the viewer. Above Christ, heaven opens up with God the Father enthroned between Christ and Mary, who intercedes for mankind. Three female allegories with scrolls or tablets of scripture sit on the clouds. The numerous Latin inscriptions emphasise the content. On the sarcophagus of Christ is Psalm 114:3: ‘The pains of death surrounded me; the dangers of hell befell me.’ Death in the form of a skeleton wearing a mask sits next to a book in which the words refer to a passage in St Paul's letter to the Romans (6, 23): ‘For the wages of sin is death’. On the left in the foreground, the horned devil rides out of hell on the seven-headed beast of St John's Apocalypse and shoots seven arrows at once with his bow. According to the Book of Revelation, the whore of Babylon is actually riding the beast. The artist has placed her on the right-hand edge of the picture, she appears as a lightly clad Venus with Cupid and looks at the viewer in an inviting and friendly manner. Her identity is revealed by the quote from the Apocalypse on the stone on which she sits (Acts 18:7): ‘I sit enthroned as a queen, a widow I am not’. The female allegories behind her hold a tambourine, which symbolises music and dance, a caduceus, the staff of Mercury, which symbolises trade, and a blindfolded woman holds a globe. Further back, a woman holds a cornucopia symbolising worldly and spiritual power. Two female figures with masks in their hands appear in the smoke on the left, symbolising falsehood. The figure wearing the skin of a billy goat and reading from a book symbolises black magic. At the top of the clouds, a woman with a sword and sceptre sits in the centre. The inscription announces a judgement according to the life led. The inscription of the allegory at the top right, also with a sword, is not quite decipherable; it begins with ‘Maledicta’ (‘cursed’) and refers to the damned of the Last Judgement. The figure on the left holds a cornucopia with a tiara and mitre, the inscription refers to the blessed with a quotation from the Book of Deuteronomy (28, 11): Abundance will the Lord give you in all good things.’ Oil on panel, 45 × 35.3 cm.