Abstract
The paper maps the broader context of the iconographic motif of Baba and the Devil, which appears in medieval wall paintings in Libiš and Žirovnice. Emphasis is placed not only on the hitherto neglected Swedish and Finnish analogies, but also on analogous motifs in contemporary art and literature.
It notes the motif of envy and the negative, perverted sexuality attributed to the old women. This is manifested not only in the motif of Baba and the Devil, but also in Erhart's famous Vanitas sculpture from the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Finally, the paper discusses the long survival of the motif in pre-modern culture. Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)