Verhaal met voorstellingen van moord en doodstraf (F. 706.) 1667

Abraham Dircksz. Santvoort created this print, "Story with scenes of murder and capital punishment," in the Netherlands sometime in the mid-17th century. It depicts a series of grim episodes, each with a different method of execution. The work offers a window into the social attitudes toward crime and punishment prevalent during the Dutch Golden Age. Santvoort's choice to represent these scenes in a sequential narrative format is significant. It mimics the structure of popular broadsides and pamphlets of the time, which often sensationalized criminal events to captivate a wide audience. Through its detailed imagery, this print provides valuable insights into the legal and penal practices of the Dutch Republic. To fully understand this piece, historical records, legal documents, and popular literature of the period are crucial. Through such research, we can gain a deeper understanding of the relationship between art, law, and public perception in 17th-century Netherlands.