Date of Award
Spring 5-1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Art & Art History
First Advisor
Cynthia Hahn
Second Advisor
Hendrik Dey
Academic Program Adviser
Lynda Klich
Abstract
While art historians have focused on the meaning of individual scenes of the Last Judgment and collections of “monstrous” images, this thesis considers images of Hell and its inhabitants as a single subject. It investigates the space of Hell itself and the beings most closely associated with it—whether or not they are depicted within the space of Hell—to identify iconographical consistencies across those images. In addition, this thesis draws upon material evidence from the medieval world to interpret images of Hell, the Devil, demons, and the damned in new ways, identifying connections between the imagery and what artists and other people would have seen and experienced in real life.
Recommended Citation
Piper, Nina, "A Special Place in Hell: The Iconography of Judgment in Twelfth-Century Sculpture and Manuscript Illumination" (2026). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/1527
