Veroordeelde wordt doodgeknuppeld op de Hawaïaanse eilanden 1822

Jacques Etienne Victor Arago created this print, now at the Rijksmuseum, depicting capital punishment in the Sandwich Islands. Here, a condemned man is brutally bludgeoned, a scene rife with symbolism. The act of striking with a blunt object, while seemingly straightforward, echoes across cultures and epochs. Consider the club, a primal tool, its presence here evoking not just death but also the raw power and ritualistic violence inherent in societal control. This echoes in ancient Mesopotamian steles where rulers wield similar objects, symbols of authority and merciless force. Such motifs speak to our collective memory, stirring subconscious associations of power, justice, and sacrifice. The emotional resonance is visceral, the print serving as a mirror reflecting humanity’s complex relationship with violence and retribution. The symbol of the bludgeon does not follow a linear path through history, rather a cyclical one, resurfacing in various guises, each time imbued with new cultural weight.