GIOTTO di Bondone
(b. 1267, Vespignano, d. 1337, Firenze)

Last Judgment (detail)

1306
Fresco
Cappella Scrovegni (Arena Chapel), Padua

The Prince of Hell, a giant monster, is enthroned on a dragon. He grabs the damned and eats them. The torments of the naked people, which are being administered by shadowy creatures, are depicted in great detail. Some of those punished are hanging from their genitals, hair, or tongues; others are roasted on spits; still others are lined up at Lucifer's feet, stuffed into holes in the earth that recall the chasms in Dante's Inferno. On the left several of the damned who are trying to escape are caught by shaggy devils.