16th Century Italian Oil on Panel Religious Scene in 17th Century Frame

Mary and Jesus Visit Hell 

16th Century Italian Oil on Panel Religious Scene in 17th Century Frame

Oil and tempera on panel. 

36 x 26 cm 

£500 

This painting is a quite crude 16th-century oil on panel with some major condition problems, but it is rare as such. There is extensive worming to the frame and panel, but both are holding very well, and the worm is not active. The painting needs a good clean. 

It is housed in what appears to be a 17th-century p[lain black frame but could be 16th-century. 

The panel has the original simple iron hook attached with handmade nails. 

in summary, this is a completely original, unsophisticated 16th-century art at a very reasonable price. 

About the image: Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians maintain that rather than dying Mary either fell asleep (known as the "dormition") or ascended (her "assumption") into heaven. But despite not dying herself, there are several different ancient texts that describe Mary descending into hell. There, she gets to witness the tortures and torments of those who lied, stole from the poor, committed adultery, and so forth. The earliest of these is the Book of Mary's Repose (Liber Requiei Marieae), which might have been written as early as the second or third centuries A.D. In the stories about her descent to hell, Mary is distressed by the agonies suffered by the damned and tries to intercede for them in order to alleviate their suffering.