Preparation for the Witches' Sabbath

A densely worked monochrome engraving stages a fantastical witches’ gathering beneath an immense, wind-bent tree. At the center, robed figures tend a cauldron beside a kneeling nude participant, while grotesque spirits, flying creatures, serpents, and distant riders animate the surrounding landscape. The crowded composition unfolds in curling bands of smoke and cloud, with meticulous linework giving the scene an ominous, theatrical energy characteristic of early modern allegorical printmaking.