Caption

Relief depicting the Judgment of Zaleucus in the Vierschaar of the City Hall on the Dam, print, book illustration, Relief depicting the Judgment of Zaleucus in the Vierschaar of the City Hall on the Dam in Amsterdam. Lawgiver Zaleucus, seated in the center, while one of his eyes is being gouged out. On the right sits his son, who would follow him. Zaleucus was responsible for the introduction of strict laws. Adultery was thus punished by the gouging out of both eyes of the offender. When his own son was caught in adultery, he decided to take half the punishment upon himself, and one eye was gouged out of both himself and his son. The Vierschaar was a public court used by the bailiff and aldermen solely for pronouncing death sentences. Below the image are two columns with three lines of Latin text. Marked in the bottom center: B., printmaker: Hubert Quellinus, Amsterdam, after sculpture by Artus Quellinus (I), publisher: Artus Quellinus (I), 1655, after sculpture by, paper, etching, engraving, height 435 mm x width 323mm, A black and white etched scene shows a group of seated and standing figures in classical draped clothing clustered on a raised platform with architectural columns and a domed structure in the background; a central seated male figure with a bare torso leans back with eyes closed while another man leans over him touching his forehead, surrounded by men with varied expressions and gestures including folded arms, raised hands, and attentive gazes; a robed woman stands to the left with one hand near her chest and a contemplative expression; a dog sits at the lower left near a small bowl containing objects; detailed folds of fabric, muscular anatomy, and linear shading define the figures and the architectural elements, and a circular monogram appears near the lower right corner.

Credit line

Photo12/Liszt Collection

Reference

LZT26B34_225

License type

Rights managed

Available size

56.7Mb (7.9Mb) / 12.6in x 17.5in / 3777 x 5248 (300dpi)

Keywords

Relief depicting Judgment Zaleucus Vierschaar City Hall Dam print book illustration Amsterdam Lawgiver Zaleucus seated center eyes gouged right sits son follow was responsible introduction strict laws Adultery thus punished gouging offender own was caught adultery decided take half punishment upon eye Vierschaar was public court bailiff aldermen solely pronouncing death sentences image two columns three lines Latin text Marked bottom center B printmaker Hubert Quellinus sculpture Artus Quellinus I publisher 1655 paper etching engraving height 435 mm x width 323mm black white etched scene group standing figures classical draped clothing clustered raised platform architectural columns domed structure background central male figure bare torso leans back eyes closed another man leans touching forehead surrounded men varied expressions gestures folded arms raised hands attentive gazes robed woman stands left hand near chest contemplative expression dog sits lower near small bowl containing objects detailed folds fabric muscular anatomy linear shading define figures architectural elements circular monogram lower right corner