The Deities: Demogorgon in the Cave of Eternity (1588–90): Art, History and Details

The Deities: Demogorgon in the Cave of Eternity (1588–90) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617).

The work and its context

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

Not all witches were women; men also performed magic. Unlike the destructive and sexualized stereotypes of female witches, male magicians were likened to the philosophers, alchemists, or heroic scientists of the Renaissance. In Goltzius's print, which was so popular it was reprinted as late as the 19th century, the central male figure is Demogorgon, the omnipotent father of all gods. Although Demogorgon was feared as the "Demon-gorgon," a terror who could unleash his primordial power, Goltzius portrays the god as a wizened and magical force who uses his power to give form to the world.

Object facts

• Title: The Deities: Demogorgon in the Cave of Eternity
• Date: 1588–90
• Creator attribution: Hendrick Goltzius (Dutch, 1558–1617)
• Culture: Netherlands, 16th century
• Type: Print
• Technique: chiaroscuro woodcut
• Dimensions: Overall: 34.9 x 26.2 cm (13 3/4 x 10 5/16 in.)
• Collection: PR - Chiaroscuro
• Department: Prints
• Accession number: 1952.204

Collection credit

Gift of The Print Club of Cleveland

Further reading listed by the museum

• “Gifts of the Print Club of Cleveland.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 47, no. 2 (February 1960): 28–35.

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.