The Devil Offering Poison to a Knight, from Hymmelwagen auff dem, wer wol lebt... 1517

Curator: Here we have a woodcut, dating from 1517, created by Hans Schäufelein. Its title is quite a mouthful: "The Devil Offering Poison to a Knight, from Hymmelwagen auff dem, wer wol lebt..." Editor: Woah, that's intensely strange. I immediately get a chilling vibe. The devil has such a predatory face, offering that potion, like a perverted version of communion. Curator: Precisely. The composition here pulls from the well of established iconography, depicting a familiar morality play for its era. It's Northern Renaissance, of course. Think of the woodcut itself as an instrument: inexpensive, portable, ready to spread specific ideas and beliefs far and wide. Editor: Yes, I feel like it is so medieval to stage things in black and white morality: there's good vs evil. Yet, as much as it makes me uncomfortable, I still can't help but wonder who would not accept that offering if faced with the devil like that? He looks both powerful and slyly tempting with his… charms. Curator: In Northern Renaissance art, we are confronted time and again with temptation represented as a bodily force and an offer for earthly dominion. Here, Schäufelein translates psychological turmoil and temptation through his grotesque demon figure: a chimera-like hybrid who distorts human form into a disturbing yet potent symbol of sin. Editor: I keep finding myself coming back to this vessel the devil carries – it has a bold "U" right in the middle of it. It is meant to hold poison, yes, but perhaps some cure, or maybe some unknown in-between? It is difficult to dismiss the symbolic function of this ambiguous emblem on the Devil's vessel. Curator: The placement of the letter "U" and its scale implies an intended allusion that certainly resonates. Think, perhaps, of divine or earthly "Use," or some family's crest inverted here as a signal of their moral degradation? The devil always inverts the known world... Editor: Well, whatever that poison might be, Schäufelein created here an absolutely compelling invitation to reflect on our darker urges and desires. Curator: Indeed, these vivid symbols, these readily grasped analogies, were meant to resonate—and evidently, even today, still succeed.