Verhaal met voorstellingen van moord en doodstraf (F. 285.) 1667

Abraham Dircksz. Santvoort created this print, titled "Story with scenes of murder and capital punishment," in the Netherlands during the 17th century. It's a sequence of images, a bit like a comic strip, showing a tale of violence and retribution. We see scenes of betrayal, murder, and ultimately, public execution. In the Dutch Golden Age, prints like these served a vital function of distributing news. The composition is stark, the figures delineated with sharp lines emphasizing the drama and moral weight of the events. This print offers a window into the social and legal structures of the time, where public punishments were common and justice was often severe. It's worth exploring historical archives and legal documents of the period to fully understand the norms and values that informed both the crimes depicted and the brutal responses to them. In this way, we might explore the public role of art in shaping perceptions of justice and morality.