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Original fileWitch's Sabbath (Sabbat)
About This Work
The drawing features a nude female figure rendered in fluid graphite lines, shown from a front-facing, slightly elevated perspective against a hazy blue and pink watercolor wash. Her face is characterized by wide, staring eyes and an open mouth, conveying a sense of alarm or trance. Her legs are positioned apart, and she sits atop a broomstick that acts as a central vertical axis for the composition; the broom's handle passes between her legs, with the bristles visible at the bottom. The artist’s style is expressive and sketch-like, with faint graphite hatching used to suggest the torso and the brush of the broom.
The work references the early modern European folklore surrounding the Witch's Sabbath, specifically the trope of the witch using a broomstick as a vehicle for flight or nocturnal gatherings, a common subject in historical demonological literature like the 'Malleus Maleficarum'.
Inscriptions(French)
Sabbat Aug Rodin
Translation
Sabbath Aug Rodin
Connected Texts
Malleus Maleficarum by Heinrich Kramer
The image illustrates the folkloric motif of the witch's flight, a primary concern of late medieval and early modern European witch-hunting manuals.
Collections
Provenance & Source
Object
Watercolor, gouache, and graphite
mythological
Digital Source
Unknown · Public domain
Linked Data
AI AI-cataloged fields generated by gemini-3.1-flash-lite-preview on April 18, 2026. Getty identifiers are AI-inferred and may require verification.