Dutch School, 17th Century

Private collection, Belgium;
From whom acquired by the present owner. 

This fascinating and intensely composed Hell Scene is a large scale and indeed, cinematic, approach to a subject which was popular in the Low Countries throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. Though a firm attribution has not yet been established, the handling and overall design recall the work of the rare Domenicus van Wijnen, called Ascanius. Van Wijnen was a member of the Bentvueghels, also known as the Schildersbent, a society of Netherlandish artists in Rome. Of the dozen or so known paintings ascribed to Wijnen, an unusual proportion depict scenes of the supernatural and of witchcraft, often by moonlight; such themes were popularized by the works of Salvator Rosa, whose engravings were widely admired during the second half of the 17th century.