A Witches' Sabbath

The scene is set in a murky, cave-like environment dominated by deep shadows. On the left, a woman in a white cap and light-colored mantle rides a white goat, holding a torch high; she is approached by a dark-cloaked figure. The center and right of the composition are filled with an agitated group of grotesque beings, including a male figure with the lower body of a goat, a creature with large butterfly wings, and various bestial forms including a large toad-like animal in the foreground. The painting uses a muted, earthy palette of browns and ochres, with the movement depicted through erratic poses, reaching limbs, and open mouths suggesting chaos or ecstatic motion.

This painting belongs to the 17th-century Dutch tradition of 'witch-scenes' (heksenstukken), which drew upon the burgeoning demonological literature of the time, such as the works of Pierre de Lancre or the persistent cultural anxiety regarding the 'Sabbath' found in judicial records of the era.