Onthoofding van Henri de Fleury de Coulan Buat, in Den Haag, 1666 1779 - 1781

This is Simon Fokke’s etching of the ‘Beheading of Henri de Fleury de Coulan Buat in The Hague, 1666’. The print depicts the execution of Buat, a French nobleman accused of conspiring with England against the Dutch Republic during the Second Anglo-Dutch War. Fokke, who made this etching nearly 50 years later, would have understood how such imagery resonated within Dutch society. The print participates in a longer tradition of Dutch political prints that served a vital public function, shaping popular opinion during a tumultuous period in European history. The beheading of Buat was not just the end of an individual, but a potent symbol of state power and justice. Its re-imagining in print form reflects the ongoing need to negotiate the past and to draw lessons for the present. To understand the full impact of images like this, the historian digs into archives, pamphlets, and other visual sources. This helps reveal the complex interplay between art, politics, and society.