“Mankind Beset by Devils (reverse of Rebel Angels panel)” is an artwork by Hieronymus Bosch, created between 1500 and 1504. This painting, executed in oil on panel, belongs to the Northern Renaissance art movement and falls within the genre of religious painting. The artwork is currently housed in the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen located in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
The artwork consists of two circular scenes, each depicting a dramatic, allegorical narrative. The upper scene illustrates a group of figures encountering devils in a nocturnal village setting, characterized by a sense of chaos and supernatural intervention. At the center of this scene, a female figure clad in flowing white garments raises her hands in a gesture of alarm or supplication, her expression conveying a mixture of fear and awe as devils descend upon the scene from the sky. Adjacent to her, another figure, dressed in traditional attire, kneels, also gesturing upwards, perhaps in prayer or desperation.
In the lower scene, the chaos continues as a naked figure rides a horse while holding a whip, a representation of mankind’s struggle with malevolent forces. Below him, a partially clothed man cowers on the ground, seemingly entrapped in a net-like structure. The landscape in the background appears tumultuous, with sparse trees and a vast, barren field suggesting desolation.
Bosch’s meticulous detail and surreal imagery serve to emphasize the theme of spiritual turmoil and the omnipresent threat of demonic influence, characteristic of his profound and often disturbing artistic vision.