Witches Preparing for Sabbath

Witches Preparing for Sabbath

Andries Stock

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

To appreciate the complex symbolism and rich details of the world of witches represented in this print close examination is needed. In the centre three witches prepare ointments that they will smear over their bodies enabling them to fly. The book before them presumably contains the recipe they need for their concoction. At the right another witch riding a broomstick fuelled by the vapors from a cauldron is being dragged by the hair by a demon. In the upper left, witches clutch bolts of fire, a reference to their power to wreak havoc by creating storms of hail and lightning to ruin crops. Below to the left, Cupid seems to be struggling with a winged demon. This has been understood as a battle between the perverse loves of witches and the pure love of Cupid. Many other details throughout the composition add to our enjoyment of it. During the time this print was made many people believed in the reality of witches and their activities. We do not know for certain the attitude of Jacques de Gheyn who designed the print but there is some evidence to think he was a skeptic and regarded subjects of witchcraft with bemusement.

Drawings and Prints

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Witches Preparing for SabbathWitches Preparing for SabbathWitches Preparing for SabbathWitches Preparing for SabbathWitches Preparing for Sabbath

The Department’s vast collection of works on paper comprises approximately 21,000 drawings, 1.2 million prints, and 12,000 illustrated books created in Europe and the Americas from about 1400 to the present day. Since its foundation in 1916, the Department has been committed to collecting a wide range of works on paper, which includes both pieces that are incredibly rare and lauded for their aesthetic appeal, as well as material that is more popular, functional, and ephemeral. The broad scope of the department’s collecting encourages questions of connoisseurship as well as those pertaining to function and context, and demonstrates the vital role that prints, drawings, and illustrated books have played throughout history.