Passion Altarpiece: Christ in Limbo

Hans Raphon's Passion Altarpiece Christ in Limbo panel in Prague's National Gallery depicts the apocryphal Harrowing of Hell — Christ descending after his death to free the souls of the righteous dead from Limbo, leading out Adam, Eve, and the Hebrew patriarchs. This subject, derived from the Apostles' Creed's article that Christ descended into hell, offered painters one of the most dramatically expansive subjects in the entire Christian narrative, combining the darkness and tormented souls of the underworld with the triumphant Christ breaking open its gates. Raphon's treatment in the Lower Saxon tradition brings dramatic narrative energy to this challenging scene.

Christ stands at the broken gate of Hell, light emanating from him into the darkness, the liberated souls emerging from below. Raphon uses strong value contrasts between the infernal darkness and the divine light. The crowd of emerging souls offers the painter opportunity for varied aged figure types representing the Hebrew ancestors.