Saul and the Witch of Endor

Created by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen in Amsterdam, the oil-on-panel painting Saul and the Witch of Endor is dated November 29, 1526. The artist signed the work with his house mark at the bottom center. Infrared reflectography reveals that the composition underwent several changes during its creation, including modifications to a satyr's ears and arms, the addition of two flying roosters, and the alteration of a witch's vessel from a bowl to a chalice. The work is currently held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.

The painting Saul and the Witch of Endor by Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen is held in the collection of the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. The work is signed with the artist's house mark and dated November 29, 1526. While the piece is a notable holding of the museum, the available records do not list specific inventory or accession numbers for this entry.

Furthermore, although the artwork's iconography and potential satirical meanings regarding contemporary events in 1526 have been analyzed by art historians, no specific exhibition history or loan records are provided in the current documentation.

Saul and the Witch of Endor is one of the few sixteenth-century depictions of this biblical episode, and its moralizing tone has been linked to contemporary debates on magic and heresy. The painting integrates multiple narrative moments, from Saul’s consultation of the witch to Samuel’s apparition and the final battle, while foregrounding a witch’s sabbath framed as a cautionary image. Infrared reflectography reveals significant underdrawing changes, including shifts in the satyr’s ears and the witch’s attributes, indicating the artist’s evolving compositional choices.

Scholars have also read the work as a coded satire tied to its 1526 date. Art historian Helen Wüstefeld connects the painting’s completion to Amsterdam’s Andriesnacht festivities, a time of revelry when social critique was performed. The inclusion of Protestant eucharistic imagery, such as a flying woman bearing bread and a cup marked “MAL”, has been interpreted as a critique of sacramentarian views, aligning with Van Oostsanen’s earlier polemical prints on the Eucharist.

The owl-throne and sabbath elements further reflect Northern European print traditions, particularly the demonological imagery of Hans Baldung Grien and Hieronymus Bosch, which the artist likely adapted to amplify the work’s moral and satirical charge.

In the sixteenth century, depictions of the Witch of Endor were rare, and Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen’s composition stands out for its moralizing warning against hekserij. Art historians interpret the work as a condemnation of occult practices through the fate of King Saul, whose consultation of a witch leads to his downfall. The painting’s satirical edge has also been noted in relation to contemporary events; its 1526 date aligns with Amsterdam’s Andriesnacht festivities, when Carnival-like performances mocked current controversies.

Scholars connect the imagery to Protestant critiques of Catholic eucharistic doctrine, pointing to details such as the flying woman bearing a bread board and the beaker marked MAL. These motifs echo Van Oostsanen’s earlier engagement with sacramental debates in his 1523 woodcut series for Alardus van Amsterdam’s Ritus edendi. Additionally, the figure of Saul has been read as a veiled satire of the exiled Danish king Christiaan II and his controversial advisor Sigbrit Willemsdr., whose reputation suffered from accusations of witchcraft.

Jacob Cornelisz. van Oostsanen’s oil painting Saul and the Witch of Endor was executed in 1526. Created in Amsterdam during the early phase of the Northern Renaissance, the work measures a modest size and is now part of the Rijksmuseum’s collection. It presents a densely populated interior where the biblical king seeks counsel from a female medium.