The justice of Trajan 

Albrecht Durer made this ink drawing called "The Justice of Trajan," depicting the Roman Emperor Trajan, probably in the early 16th century in Nuremberg. The image shows a Roman emperor deferring his military campaign to enact justice for a widow whose son has been murdered, and speaks to the ideals of the Holy Roman Empire in the period. Durer shows the scene unfolding in a triumphal archway, similar to ones used in the imperial processions of his day. This drawing was intended to be part of a series of woodcuts commissioned by Emperor Maximilian I, who was Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 to 1519. Maximilian used art as propaganda and was interested in emphasizing his virtue and power. By studying the history of the Holy Roman Empire and the biography of Maximilian, we can better understand Durer’s artistic choices here, and understand the public role of art during the Renaissance.