# The Descent into Limbo

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/the-descent-into-limbo-rfd62e0bee1c453>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [MASTER of the Osservanza](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2>)
- Date: 1401-1450
- Technique: Tempera and gold on wood, 38 x 47 cm

## Commentary

The Descent into Limbo c. 1445 Tempera and gold on wood, 38 x 47 cm Fogg Art Museum, Harvard University, Cambridge This painting is one of five Passion panels from the predella of an unidentified altarpiece. The imagery of Christ breaking down hell&#39;s door and trapping a hairy Satan is traditional. Until at least the mid-fifteenth century, several Sienese painters continued to create highly original works within their broadly shared pictorial language. The Master of the Osservanza&#39;s Descent into Limbo stands out, above all by its weird colour. No reproduction can quite convey the peculiar radiance of Christ&#39;s aureole - palest yellow with hints of pale violet - pressing into the utter blackness of the cave. The surface is oddly enamel-like, smooth and dense.

## Related artworks

- [St Anthony at Mass Dedicates His Life to God](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/st-anthony-at-mass-dedicates-his-life-to-god-rd374dad97a27e8>)
- [St Anthony Distributing his Wealth to the Poor](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/st-anthony-distributing-his-wealth-to-the-poor-r3d297d3830ed11>)
- [St Anthony Goes in Search of St Paul the Hermit](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/st-anthony-goes-in-search-of-st-paul-the-hermit-r2192abb516898e>)
- [St Anthony Tempted by Gold](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/st-anthony-tempted-by-gold-rc4652ca7936871>)
- [St John the Evangelist](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/st-john-the-evangelist-rdb288c14ad9e67>)
- [The Redeemer](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/the-redeemer-r28e913fdd7c5ee>)
- [The Resurrection](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/master-of-the-osservanza-r4c99277bfda7d2/the-resurrection-rf8535aff6942cf>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)