Dmitry Antonov, Mikhail Maizuls - Anatomy of Hell. A guide to Ancient Russian visual demonology. Gift book bound in leather

"Anatomy of Hell"

The theme of the afterlife retribution is one of the leitmotives of medieval iconography and medieval culture in general. However, this visual legacy is still not only poorly understood, but also little accessible to the reader. Old Russian book miniatures are not often published, and when publishing icons and frescoes, demonological and infernal images rarely deserve special comment.

"Anatomy of Hell" is the first visual "guide" to the main subjects of ancient Russian demonology and iconography of the underworld. The authors show how the icon painters of medieval Russia and the Old Believer masters of the XVIII - early XX centuries represented demons and how they demonized sinners; how they depicted diabolical temptations and ghostly illusions; how they visualized the invisible: the exodus of the soul from the body, the dispute between angels and demons for the soul of the deceased, her wanderings through ordeals and a motley series of afterlife torments.

The album includes about 300 images, most of which have not been published before.