Well, somebody needs to mention the visual images of the Harrowing of Hell so
I guess I'll bite. I was searching for some last spring when my search was
necessarily limited to the holdings in the slide library. I noted three: one
in a 13th c. French antihonary (sorry, I don't have the title but can get it
if anyone needs it), a Descent into Limbo by (Giovanni?) Bellini (15th c.),
and another descent by Il Bronzino (16th c.).
James Hall's Dictionary of Subjects and Symbols in Art devotes nearly an
entire page to this iconography. He notes that in "later examples" classical
elements appear, such as Pluto and Proserpine enthroned in hell. Usually a
group of figures rising out of coffins is the chief identifier but many Old
Testament figures are also visible.
Nancy
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