The Fall of the Saints

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: the Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent (Belgium).

In this frequently remembered work of the artist’s late period, the viewer can see seven ugly figures of saints and a naked woman whose head is hidden or, as is often seen in other works of the artist, is absent. The characters are depicted in a dizzying free fall that horrifies them. Figures floating in an indefinite space represent growing social unrest and the uncertainty in the European world that grew with the advent of the Nazis. Berghe created preliminary oil sketches and Indian ink drawings for this painting; they are also in the collection of the museum.