King Saul and the Witch of Endor

The Israelite King Saul and his army are faced with the assembled Philistine hosts at Mount Gilboa, when Saul has serious misgivings. Since neither God nor dreams nor oracle will answer him, and the prophet Samuel is dead, the King goes in disguise to consult the Witch of Endor. She hesitates, since Saul himself has banned prophecy from his realm, but then, in the depths of night, she evokes the spirit of Samuel.
The painting demonstrates the success of this enterprise by means of a serpent, a vial and a bat lying on the ground in the bottom right corner. Diagonally opposite, the full moon appears from behind clouds and cliff, illuminating the scene and revealing a bat flitting by. The Witch has paused in the incantations she accompanies with the rhythmic beating of the stick. King Saul has laid aside his plumed helmet and thrown himself to the ground before the sudden manifestation of the spirit of Samuel, to hear the ominous words about the end of his reign. A dazzling light in the centre of the group announces the appearance of Samuel’s spirit from the other-world. His pallid complexion and the pale shade of his clothing underline his presence as a ghost.

Translated catalogue text from:
Ducke Astrid: Katalog. In: Astrid Ducke: Der Kuss der Musen. Festspiele göttlicher Inspiration. Residenzgalerie Salzburg. Salzburg 2020, S. 25-89, Art des Alessandro Magnasco, König Saul und die Hexe von Endor, S. 61, Abb. 54, S. 60

Translation: Gail Schamberger MA, Salzburg