Mensen in het vagevuur c. 1610 - 1650

Cornelis Galle I created this engraving titled *Mensen in het vagevuur*, or *People in Purgatory*, sometime between 1576 and 1650. Galle was part of a prolific family of printmakers in Antwerp, a city that was then a center of Catholic Counter-Reformation. This print plunges us into the emotional and physical torment of purgatory. Flames engulf a diverse crowd of men, women, and children, their faces contorted in anguish. Above, angels hover near a radiant symbol of the Jesuit order, suggesting the possibility of divine intervention and redemption from suffering. The figures in purgatory reflect the universal nature of human experience, where neither gender nor age is spared from the consequences of sin. Galle’s work invites us to reflect on our own mortality and the societal structures that define salvation, shaping our fears and hopes around spiritual purification. It’s a powerful reminder of the human quest for redemption.