Descent into the limbo

Andrea Mantegna's Descent into Limbo, painted around 1470, depicts Christ's descent to rescue the righteous souls held in limbo since the beginning of time—a subject known as the Harrowing of Hell. The theme, drawn from the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus, was central to medieval theology and allowed Renaissance painters to depict classical figures like Adam and Eve alongside biblical patriarchs. The painting once belonged to the Barbara Piasecka Johnson Collection.

Mantegna renders the rocky underworld with his characteristic geological precision, using strong chiaroscuro to distinguish the darkness of limbo from the divine light that Christ brings to the imprisoned souls.