Caption

Mirror of State. Depicted in Mr. Kornelis and Ian de Wit, Mutilation of the bodies of the De Witt brothers, 1672, print, Representation of the mutilation of the bodies of the brothers Johan and Cornelis de Witt, August 20, 1672. On the right a horseman, on the left a man with a garment of one of the victims. In the air two storks. Below the scene is a verse in two columns in which the murders are justified., printmaker, Northern Netherlands, paper, etching, letterpress printing, etching with letterpress text, height 415 mm x width 325 mm, Person, Cornelis de Witt, Johan de Witt, attempt, political murder, mutilation of the corpse, lynching, violent death, being killed, being killed mishandled and maltreated, seeking death (death by lynching), Death of the De Witt brothers, political history, murder, The Hague, Period, 1672-08-20, A detailed black and white etching shows a tall wooden pole with rungs and three naked bodies hanging upside down from it, their limbs bound and heads near the ground; several clothed men stand nearby, one holding a tool and another appearing to adjust bindings, while another crouches near the feet of the victims. To the right, a crowd of uniformed soldiers with spears and helmets stand behind a gated entrance, and a mounted figure on horseback gestures toward them. In the foreground left, a cloaked figure wearing a wide-brimmed hat stands in shadow beside a tree, and in the background there are tall leafy trees, a small cluster of buildings with pitched roofs and towers, and two birds flying in the sky. A low brick wall surrounds the area where the executions are taking place.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26A95_311

License type

Rights managed

Available size

43.6Mb (10.6Mb) / 12.6in x 13.5in / 3770 x 4044 (300dpi)

Keywords

Mirror State Depicted Mr Kornelis Ian de Wit Mutilation bodies De Witt brothers 1672 print Representation mutilation brothers Johan Cornelis de Witt August 20 right horseman left man garment victims air two storks scene verse two columns murders justified printmaker Northern Netherlands paper etching letterpress printing letterpress text height 415 mm x width 325 mm Person Johan de Witt attempt political murder corpse lynching violent death killed killed mishandled maltreated seeking death death Death political history murder Hague Period 1672-08-20 detailed black white etching tall wooden pole rungs three naked hanging upside down limbs bound heads near ground several clothed men stand nearby holding tool another appearing adjust bindings another crouches near feet crowd uniformed soldiers spears helmets stand gated entrance mounted figure horseback gestures them foreground left cloaked figure wearing wide-brimmed hat stands shadow beside tree background tall leafy trees small cluster buildings pitched roofs towers two birds flying sky low brick wall surrounds area executions taking place