Augustine sacrificing to an idol of the Manichaeans (?)

Aert van den Bossche's Augustine Sacrificing to an Idol of the Manichaeans (?), painted around 1480 and now in the Rijksmuseum, depicts a subject from the early life of Saint Augustine of Hippo — his youthful adherence to the Manichaean sect, a dualist religion he followed for nine years before his conversion to orthodox Christianity. If the identification is correct, this is an unusually specific moment from Augustine's biography: his participation in Manichaean ritual before his eventual conversion in Milan in 387 AD and his subsequent transformation into one of the most influential theologians in Christian history.

Oil on panel with the Flemish technique of the period — precise observation, layered glazes, rich dark tonality. The scene depicts a ritual context with a pagan idol, incense or sacrifice, and the young Augustine as participant in a heterodox religious ceremony.