The Witches' Sabbath by Moonlight (detail)

Private collection

landscape

Other elements holding traces of sorcery are represented here: the fire in the centre of the scene, a symbol of physical, moral and mystical transmutation. Close to the fire we find a cat, servant of the underworld, as well as a sleeping baby, often victims of sorcery.

The Witches' Sabbath by Moonlight (detail)

About the Artist

Domenicus van Wijnen

1661 – 1698

Dutch painter. Little is known about his life. He was a pupil of the painter and engraver Willem Doudijns (1630-1697) in The Hague. He lived in Rome between 1680 and 1690, where he joined the Bentvueghels, also known as the Schildersbent, a society of Netherlandish artists in Rome. Upon his initiation into the Schildersbent he was given the bent name 'Ascanius', a reference to the son of the Trojan hero Aeneas. He was a painter of historical allegories and conversation pieces. Several of the dozen or so paintings firmly attributed to him depict scenes of witchcraft.

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