In a blazing chasm, soot-blackened, naked figures crowd together, pleading desperately for help. Four angels descend from the night sky, bringing bread, water, and clothing. Higher up, individual souls who have been saved are already being received by Jesus.

The painting, which belonged to an altarpiece, depicts the salvation of souls from Purgatory. According to Catholic doctrine, the souls of the dead must remain there until they are purified of the sins they committed during their lifetime. Similar ideas of the soul’s continued existence after death can also be found in other religions, such as Judaism and Islam.

How strongly this vision of the afterlife shaped people’s beliefs can be inferred from the kneeling donor figures in the foreground: depicted is the knight Werner von Pallant from Linnich in the district of Düren with his family, who commissioned the altarpiece as its patron. The Latin prayers on the scrolls make clear that he hoped for the swiftest possible salvation after death – just as the scene presents it, almost like a visionary revelation.