Monster Brains Presents, The Mouth Of Hell..
The following paintings, sculptures, engravings and other mediums from centuries past will explore the theme of the mouth of hell. From paintings of Christ in Limbo, The Harrowing of Hell, The Last Judgement, to decorative sculptures showing the hell mouth on display in various churches across Europe, there are many unique and bizarre depictions of this monstrous portal into the inferno.























Last Judgement window, Cathedral Saint-Etienne de Bourges. More pictures of the window can be found here.























Right panel from the Triptych of Earthly Vanity, Hans Memling, 1485.

Here's a link to another Doom painting, and another Hell Mouth.

I haven't seen many sites online focused on the Hell Mouth but I did find this page with a nice variety of photographs, although small, showing various Doom paintings and other works related to the Hell Mouth motif. The Ecclesiological Society, Dooms and the mouth of hell in the late medieval period.

This wraps up the weeklong post on one of my favroite motifs in art. If you dig through the archives here I'm sure you'll find numerous paintings featuring the mouth of hell that I didn't bring up. If you know of any works not mentioned here I'd love to see them, please leave any related links in the comments, thank you!

More Scenes Of Last Judgement

Details unknown, image located at the Duke Art Museum.



Klontzas 1540-1608, Georgios, Greek-Last Judgment (detail)






















Detail of the Last Judgement located at Sillegny - Eglise Saint Martin. See the full painting here.






















15th century Doom painting located at North Leigh, Oxfordshire.


"Mohammed is depicted in the center of this painting, with his face covered. The painting is also called "The Day of the Last Judgment"; signed by the artist Mohammad Modabber, from 1897. In the Sa'd-Abad Cultural Collection (Iran)." - quote source.


"The Day of the Last Judgment, painting attributed to artist Mohammad Modabber - undated, but likely from the late 19th century. In the Reza Abbasi Museum Collection (Iran). Mohammed is depicted in this painting at the upper right, riding on a camel." - quote source.


Painting located at the Church of Oja in Gotland, Sweden.


Wall painting at the Madonna dei Martiri, Italy























"The dream of Philipp " Greco 1541-1614, El, Fodele Kreta

The Last Judgement

source unknown

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"The History of the Virgin and Christ" by the Delli brothers, dated 1440-45. Work located at the old cathedral of Salamanca, Spain.


Last Judgement fresco, see the full painting here.


15th century Doom painting South Leigh, Oxfordshire. View more of the painting here.


Part of the 15th century Doom painting at Combe, Oxfordshire. See more of the painting here.


St Thomas Salisbury, 15th century

Niedersachsen, Laurentiuskirche vaults


Loose icon in Gelati Monastery.






















Castle of Zvolen, 17th century.






















The Doom, St Peter's Church, Wenhaston, Suffolk, see the full doom painting here.

More HellMouth Illustrations





















From the French 15th century Hours of Catherine of Cleves.






















French diablerie, late 15th century.






















Angel fastening the Jaws of Hell. From the twelfth-century Winchester Psalter.


St Bartholomew giving a scourge to Guthlac as he is tormented by demons in 'The Guthlac Roll' Ink and pigments on vellum, 13th century.


Political cartoon from 1799.











































Miniature of the Fall of Lucifer and the rebel angels.

The Harrowing of Hell


"The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology referenced in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed (Quicumque vult), which states that Jesus "descended into Hell". It has been termed the most controversial phrase in the Apostle's Creed.

The original Greek wording in the Apostles' Creed is κατελθόντα εἰς τὰ κατώτατα, ("katelthonta eis ta katôtata"), and in Latin descendit ad inferos. The Greek τὰ κατώτατα ("the lowest") and the Latin inferos ("those below") may also be translated as "underworld", "netherworld", or as "abode of the dead". Thus, sometimes this phrase is translated as "descended to the dead." The first use of the English "harrowing" in this context is in homilies of Aelfric, ca.1000. Harrow is a by-form of harry, a military term meaning to "make predatory raids or incursions". The term "Harrowing of Hell" refers not merely to the idea that Christ descended into Hell, as in the Creed, but to the rich tradition that developed later, asserting that he triumphed over inferos, releasing Hell's captives, particularly Adam and Eve, and the righteous men and women whose stories are recorded in the Septuagint." - quote source



Harrowing of Hell, Chiesa Matrice, Castelbuono


"Harrowing of Hell, and Christ, Thomas and Mary Magdalene, in The Winchester Psalter" Ink and pigments on vellum, 12th century. Sources for the following illuminations are unknown.

Illuminations Of The Hell Mouth

These illuminations all date between the 12th - 16th century and show themes of the Last Judgement and Fall of the Rebel Angels.

More Sculptures Featuring The Mouth Of Hell


Cathedral in Leon

"Carving in the retro-choir at Worcester Cathedral."

Chemin de St. Jaques

Location unknown

Wood carving, location unknown

Location unknown


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Location unknown









































St Winifred, Kingston on Soar, Nottinghamshire






















Dorchester Abbey - Harrowing of Hell






















Weener, Ostfriesland, Rheiderland, Heimatmuseum, Holtgaster altar

Coming Up





















Here's what to expect for the rest of the week..

Monday and Tuesday will devoted to sculptural works showing the Hellmouth. Wednesday and Thursday will be set aside for miniature paintings, colored woodcuts and various illuminated manuscript pages. Then Friday and Saturday I'll post paintings that involve the mouth of hell. All in all it should be around 100 works posted.

The work above is by an unknown artist although it is a section from a Last Judgement painting and probably dates between the 15th and 16th centuries. Also, and I just noticed this, if you look at the Hell beast in the bottom right of the painting above you'll see a person getting sucked into one of its pig like nostrils. Heheh, The Nostril Of Hell!

Mouth Of Hell In Sculpture


For the most part these carvings, relief sculptures and other three dimensional mediums are centered on the Last Judgement theme. However the works with Christ at the mouth of Hell are likely some variation of Christ In Limbo, Christ Descending into Hell or The Harrowing of Hell. Where possible I've saved the name of the Church the works are from in the file name.

"Mouth of Hell with Sinners, Lincoln Cathedral, Lincoln, UK " A much larger photo of this work can be found here.









































































































































































Last Judgment, Bode Museum, Berlin Germany.

A Few More Mouthes





















"Heaven and Hell" from Occasio Arrepta. Neglecta. : Huius Commoda, written by Jan David.





















"The Damned" from Occasio Arrepta. Neglecta. : Huius Commoda, written by Jan David. Works found at the Digital Image Archive.





















Coornhert van Heemskerck, ` the rich man and the poor lazarus (1551)

The Gaping Maw Of Hell





















Published by Jan Sadeler after Marcus Gheeraerts - "Passio Verbigenae Quae Nostra Redemptio Christi" engraving 1575 - 1600. This should look familiar to anyone familiar with the last Monster Brains logo.






















Veridicus Christianus - Work found thanks to Giornale Nuovo, view this article on Christianus to see additional works.


Natale Bonifacio da Sebenico - Admiranda beati Aurelii Augustini - "Allegory of the Augustinian order, with a ship manned by members of the order sailing between Jerusalem and Paradise, with the mouth of hell in the foreground." 1580 Etching





















Matthias Gerung - Apocalypse - woodcut print from 1545-1548


Hans Weiditz/Heinrich Steiner, woodcut 1531

Pieter van der Heyden, After Pieter Brueghel The last judgement

Pieter van der Heyden, after brueghel-christ in limbo

Lucas Cranach - Martin Luther: Against the papacy to Rome donated by the devil. - 1545 Woodcut
Lucas Cranach - Abendmahl der Protestanten und Höllensturz der Katholiken. - 1540

Theatrical Mouth Of Hell

Lodovico Burnacini's set design, "Hell Mouth" (engraving by Mathäus Küsel) displays a scene from the 1668 production of the opera Il Pomo D'Oro, by Antonio Cesti.































The above images come from The Valenciennes Passion play (Bibl. Nat. MS. fr. 12536). (From Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1904, vol I., p. 393).

"In the above example, Paradise is located on top of a pavilion on the left, while the mouth of Hell spews demons from a building on the right. A pond with a boat in it is labelled as the sea, while various other structures, including what appear to be the town gates, are labelled as the Temple, Nazareth, Jerusalem and other significant places in the play." - quote source.

"In medieval theatre, a hellmouth was a prop or mechanical device which was used to attempt to scare the audience by vividly dramatizing an entrance to Hell. " - quote source

A large number of the artworks that I will be posting are likely direct copies of real props of a Hellmouth. The pic below is the only copy I've seen where the Hellmouth is actually closed. There was probably some crude mechanical device inside allowing it to open and shut for the actors dressed as demons and tortured souls to pass through.