Moord te Zutphen, 1572 1618 - 1624

This engraving, 'Moord te Zutphen, 1572,' was created anonymously to document a grim episode in Dutch history. It plunges us into the harrowing aftermath of the Spanish army's recapture of Zutphen, a tale of political and religious conflict during the early years of the Eighty Years' War. The artist meticulously depicts the atrocities committed against the townspeople: naked bodies thrown into the freezing river IJssel, hangings in trees. The choice to show the victims naked is a deliberate act that strips them of their dignity in death as they were in life. The text beneath the image laments the betrayal by the Spaniards and speaks of the horror of the events. The print served as a form of propaganda, aiming to stir outrage and resistance against Spanish rule. "Don Frederic, Soon van van den Hartog Alba...oeffenende aldaar een straffe, die alle reden en maat te bovenging," reads the caption. The inscription suggests a narrative of vengeance and the reassertion of power. This image stands as a stark reminder of the human cost of war and the ways in which individual suffering becomes intertwined with the broader currents of history.