Landscape with Three Brigands and Their Victim 1668 - 1671

Sebastien Bourdon created this etching, “Landscape with Three Brigands and Their Victim,” in France sometime in the mid-17th century. It depicts a scene of violence within an otherwise picturesque landscape, a fashionable theme during this period. The image's meaning is created through the visual codes of its time, referencing both classical ideals of landscape and the gritty realities of 17th-century life. France, under the Bourbon monarchy, was a society deeply stratified by class, with stark disparities in wealth and power. Bourdon's choice to depict brigands, outlaws operating on the margins of society, might be read as a commentary on the social inequalities of his time. Analyzing such an image requires research into the popular imagery, literature, and social conditions of 17th-century France. Only then can we fully understand Bourdon's contribution to the ongoing dialogue about power, justice, and the human condition.