Gerichtsaltar: Höllensturz der Verdammten

Hans Fries painted this companion panel showing the Fall of the Damned into Hell from the same Last Judgement altar in 1501. The contrast between the salvation of the blessed and the damnation of sinners was central to the didactic program of Last Judgement imagery. Fries's treatment of the infernal scene demonstrates his gift for dramatic, sometimes horrific imagery. The tempera medium required careful preparation on a gessoed panel and a disciplined layering technique that produced precise, durable surfaces suited to the intricate detail expected of devotional painting.

Oil on panel with vivid, lurid coloring and dynamic compositions of falling and tormented figures. The hellscape is rendered with the imaginative vigor and graphic detail that distinguish Fries's approach to the macabre.