The Fall of the Magician

Pieter van der Heyden after Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Engraving on laid paper

Rijksmuseum

This engraving depicts the dramatic downfall of the magician Hermogenes, drawn from the hagiographic narrative of Saint James as recorded in the thirteenth-century compendium known as the Golden Legend. The composition is densely populated with fantastical creatures, distorted human figures, and chaotic demonic forms that tumble and writhe across the picture plane, in the tradition of Hieronymus Bosch. The print was engraved by Pieter van der Heyden, one of the most prolific reproductive engravers working for the Antwerp publisher Hieronymus Cock, after a design attributed to Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Published in Antwerp in 1565, the work bears the inscription "Idem impetravit a Deo ut magus a daemonibus discerperetur" (Hence the saint obtained from God that the magician should be torn to pieces by demons), underscoring its moral and religious didactic purpose.