Surrounded by human bones and animal familiars, a group of witches engage in naked revelry as they soar through the air and prepare food for the Sabbath.

This is the first print made by Baldung after becoming a master craftsman and leaving Dürer's workshop, as well as the first to feature his initials.

The chiaroscuro woodcut was a printmaking technique where a color woodblock was used to add tone to the printed image.

[2][3] Baldung and his mentor Albrecht Dürer created several images throughout their careers that dealt with this theme of witches.

[1] Most peasants did not know about it, and even among theologians and witch hunters, the Sabbath did not necessarily play a large role in demonology.

[4] Therefore, in order to attend a Sabbath, witches needed to be able to cross large distances in a short amount of time.

[3] The Malleus also mentions how in Daniel 14:33-36, an angel flew Habakkuk to Babylon from Judea in only a few minutes, carrying the prophet by his hair.

[3] On the upper-left of the image, to the left of the witch flying on a goat, there is a figure obscured by the vapors coming out of the unguent jar.

[3] The bones suggest cannibalism and infanticide, both referenced in Question XI of the first part of the Malleus Maleficarum.

The accused witch also mentioned that the boiled solids can be made into an unguent that assists in pleasure and transportation specifically.

According to the Malleus Maleficarum, loose hair would draw the devil's fascination and distract men during worship.

The second goat, to the center-left behind the seated witches, bleats and uses one leg to grab a pitchfork holding sausages and a cooking pot.

Art historian Jane Schyler asserts that The Witches illustrates the beliefs of church inquisitors, and that its imagery is directly informed by the writings of the Malleus Maleficarum.

[3] Baldung, who had an attorney for a father and a professor for a brother, likely had access to the Malleaus maleficarum through his family members.

[3] Margaret Sullivan, also an art historian, asserts that Baldung's image was not necessarily intended to accurately depict official witch-hunting ideas.

[1] It's plausible that Baldung was inspired to create this by the publication of Lucan's De Bello Civili in Strasbourg the year before, which features the witch Erichtho.

[1] The witches' nakedness also served as an artistic opportunity for Baldung to show his prowess in anatomy by depicting a female nude.