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In the centre, one witch smokes the corpse of a criminal that hangs from a withered tree while her companion cuts its toenails. In front of them, naked witches use a wax effigy to cast a love spell; another, surrounded by a catalogue of magical aids, stirs a cauldron. On the extreme left, two men exhume a corpse and force it to sign a document while away to the right, a swaddled infant is held above the gaping jaws of a monster.
This macabre scene evokes a witches' sabbath, a gathering where the devil was worshipped. Salvator Rosa developed an interest in the supernatural while working in Florence in the 1640s and probably painted this remarkable picture around 1646.
Title
Witches at their Incantations
Date
about 1646
Medium
Oil on canvas
Measurements
H 72 x W 132 cm
Accession number
NG6491
Acquisition method
Bought, 1984
Work type
Painting
The National Gallery, London
Trafalgar Square, London, Greater London WC2N 5DN England
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