Descent into Limbo (c. 1490–1500): Art, History and Details

Descent into Limbo (c. 1490–1500) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Giovanni Antonio da Brescia (Italian); Andrea Mantegna (Italian, about 1431–1506).

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

This subject, also known as the Harrowing of Hell, recounts Christ’s descent into limbo, the first circle of hell, to liberate the souls of Old Testament saints. The church taught that those who lived and died in an era without the Christian sacraments were relegated to a lower place until Christ could come redeem them. Here Christ, holding the banner of the Resurrection, enters through a doorway. Broken from its hinges, the door has fallen to the ground over which Christ triumphantly walks. A group of figures await their redemption, including Adam and Eve to the right. Above, a group of demons emerge from the cavern, sounding trumpets to announce Christ’s arrival.

Object facts

• Title: Descent into Limbo
• Date: c. 1490–1500
• Creator attribution: Giovanni Antonio da Brescia (Italian); Andrea Mantegna (Italian, about 1431–1506)
• Culture: Italy
• Type: Print
• Technique: engraving
• Dimensions: Sheet: 41.2 x 28.2 cm (16 1/4 x 11 1/8 in.); Mat Size: 56 x 40.7 cm (22 1/16 x 16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Engraving
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1926.261

Collection credit

Dudley P. Allen Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Prasse, Leona. "The Engraving of Andrea Mantegna." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 43, no. 4 (April 1956): 59-62.

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.