Medieval hells. Painting the world of the dead to guide the society of the living

As medieval preachers knew well, the fear of punishment was a far more effective lever over human behaviour than the hope of reward. This explained the development of images of Hell that became increasingly complex and crude between the 14th and 15th centuries, in order to disturb minds and stir consciences. But in what direction? And to what end? The answer is not as obvious as it might appear. Since the negative exempla made sense only in relation to the positive ones, the great theatre of the damned also lent itself to a contrary reading in which the figures of the sinners, far from constituting only a terrible admonition, directed the faithful towards attitudes and behaviours that were worthy of reward.

To cut a long story short, the negative depictions transformed into proposals for action as a result of the iconographic choices of artists and patrons (communities, private individuals, confraternities, religious orders, etc.) who used the theme of Hell to express their ideals of civil coexistence.