© Floor Joanne

23 NOVEMBER 2025

Carmignano Visitation, Pontormo, c. 1528-1530

I don’t understand why Christoph Bertsch referred to the Four Witches by Albrecht Dürer in his book.

Other than both works depicting groups of four female figures, these women stand in a totally different position and they aren’t naked. If anything, the engraving by Dürer and this painting are total opposites of each other. One depicts women as unholy creatures doomed to drag you into the pits of hell or death, while this one is wholesome. 

Dürer even made his own version of Die Heimsuchung. Bertsch doesn’t discuss that in his book.