GROENINGEMUSEUM I BRUGES 28 / 10 / 2016 - 05 / 02 / 2017
Cover Interpretation of: Workshop of Jacob de Gheyn II, Justice, ± 1591-1595 © Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus / Photo: Peter Maes Philips Galle after Pieter Bruegel I, Justitia (Justice), ± 1559 © Antwerp, Museum Mayer van den Bergh
INTRODUCTION
THE ART OF LAW Three Centuries of Justice depicted Where does the image of Lady Justice with her sword, scales and blindfold originate? How was justice administered under the ancien régime? What did the word ‘justice’ mean to the people of the Late Middle Ages? In this exhibition we would like to provide an answer to these and other questions. We shall guide you through three centuries of the history of law on the basis of about a hundred and twenty varied objects: paintings, sculpture, stained glass, drawings, prints and books. They present a fascinating survey of the way artists took inspiration from the law and justice from about 1450 to 1750. About twenty works from Bruges collections are shown alongside loaned items from Belgium and abroad. Many of these works were created to adorn courtrooms and council chambers and were intended to inspire the judges to make fair judgements. But works of art outside the courtroom also took law and justice as their subject. They show the importance of the law,
which after all touches on almost every aspect of daily life. The administration of justice leaves no one unmoved, especially when terrible death sentences and corporal punishment were still imposed and while there was still no notion of a separation of powers or between church and state.
ROOM A
DIVINE JUDGEMENT, WORDLY JUSTICE From the late Middle Ages, Flemish and Brabant cities competed to build the finest town hall. In addition, the aldermen’s hall, used among other things for the administration of justice, was also embellished with scenes of justice by the best artists of the time. These moralising works of art show examples of good or bad justice. They were intended to urge the aldermen - who at that time were also judges - to carry out their important task conscientiously. The most common subject is the Last Judgement, the ultimate application of divine law: God pronounces judgement on all the world’s people on the Last Day. Worldly justice was meant to reflect this divine justice. The Last Judgement constantly reminds everyone in the aldermen’s hall judges, prosecutors, accused and witnesses - of their responsibility in the cause of justice. The iconography of the Last Judgement went back much further than the decoration of town halls. After all, justice was originally administered in the
open air, sometimes under a justice tree, but mostly in the porch of a church, where the Last Judgement was commonly part of the decoration. The link between divine and secular justice is clear to see in the panels from Graz, Maastricht and Wesel, where the Last Judgement is combined with a secular court session.
A1 Judge Niclas Strobel and Heavenly Justice / 1478 Anonymous
oil on panel / Graz, Stadtmuseum
Niclas Strobel, who commissioned this painting, is sitting on a judge’s seat beneath Christ in judgement. In the secular court session below, a lady is taking the oath. Unlike the panel by Derick Baegert (A6), the oath-taking is here more of a side issue. The emphasis is on the direct relationship between secular and divine justice.
A2 The Last Judgement / 1525
Adriaan Moreels and Pieter van Boven
oil on panel / Geraardsbergen, Geraardsbergen Town Council
The Last Judgement was depicted in more or less the same way for centuries. This painting from Geraardsbergen town hall, in a primitive style that is somewhat reminiscent of Bosch, also has the usual elements: the dead rise up out of their graves and are ‘weighed’ under Christ’s gaze. He decides whether they are to be eternally saved or eternally damned. He is sitting on a rainbow between Mary and John the Baptist and is wearing the characteristic red robe of a judge. They are accompanied by saints, martyrs and angels playing trumpets. The lily next to Christ’s head represents sympathetic and merciful justice
when possible, the sharp sword steel-hard justice when necessary. One special element here is the seven deadly sins and their punishments, which are pictured in the chaotic hell at the bottom.
A3 The Last Judgement / 1525 Jan Provoost
oil on panel / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
This Last Judgement adorned the aldermen’s hall in the town hall in Bruges. Jesus is pointing emphatically at his stab wound, and Provoost thereby accentuates his role as the saviour. But he also shows him as a judge: he is holding a sword, like the Archangel Michael in other depictions of the Last Judgement. Amongst the blessed souls at the gate of heaven on the left we see a striking number of churchmen, recognisable by their tonsure. But Provoost also portrays nuns and priests in the mouth of hell. Pieter Pourbus painted over these figures in 1550 following a decree issued by Charles V that forbad criticism of the clergy. This overpainting was removed in 1956.
A4 The Last Judgement / 1551 Pieter Pourbus
oil on panel / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
Pourbus painted this Last Judgement for the courtroom of the Liberty of Bruges. It was hung on the left-hand wall, as can be seen in a 1659 painting by Gillis van Tilborgh (D2/2). Among the saints and martyrs we recognize two saints who were of importance in matters of law: Moses with the Tables of the Law, and Lawrence, patron saint of Bruges’ jurists, with the grid on which he was tortured following his conviction. Pourbus was clearly influenced by Michelangelo’s Last Judgement in the Sistine Chapel, which he knew from prints. As in Michelangelo’s work, the accent is not on anecdotal details, but on the Renaissance-style nudes.
A5 Dual Justice / 1477 or 1499 Jan van Brussel
oil on panel / Maastricht, Maastricht City Council
An artist close to Rogier van der Weyden painted this panel in 1477 or 1499 - there is some doubt about the date on the frame. The main subject is the corruptibility (or not) of the aldermen and the consequences of this on the day of judgement. The upper section shows a traditional
Last Judgement. It is separated from the lower section by the view of a city, probably the earliest one of Maastricht. On the left we see a court where a devil is trying to bribe the aldermen in a lawsuit between a poor man and a rich man. On the right, an angel, possibly Michael, is pointing towards hell. The good and bad advice can be read on the banderoles above the devil and the angel.
A6 Taking the Oath / 1493-1494 Derick Baegert
oil on panel Wesel, Städtisches Museum-Galerie im Centrum
Baegert depicts a court case at the moment the oath is being taken. The judge is pointing at the painting of the Last Judgement on the wall. His other hand is pointing at the accused, who is taking the oath, while an angel and a devil whisper advice in his ears. The judge’s gesture – imitating that of Christ in the Last Judgement - and the inscription in the banderole make a clear connection between committing perjury and the judging of the perjurer on the day of judgement.
ROOM B
EXEMPLA IUSTITIAE Inspiring Examples As from the fifteenth century, the rooms of the institutions that administered the law were decorated with several other scenes of justice in addition to portrayals of the Last Judgement. These ‘exempla iustitiae’, moralising depictions of justice and the administration of law, drew on both biblical and profane sources. Popular examples include the Judgement of Solomon and the story of Susanna the chaste. Other judgements include those by Zaleucus, Trajan and Herkinbald. They point out a number of the judge’s essential duties, such as keeping to the law, impartiality and above all incorruptibility. Many of the examples and allegories from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries - before the separation of powers - deal not only with the administration of justice in the narrow sense, but also with patriotism and good governance. After all, a good administrative body wants to be able to identify with one of the most important virtues: good justice.
B1 THE JUDGEMENT OF SOLOMON The Judgement of Solomon is second only to the Last Judgement as the most popular example of the just and wise administration of justice. Two women ask Solomon, the king of the Jews, to give a verdict in a serious dispute. They both live in the same house and have babies of about the same age. One of them has involuntarily suffocated her child in her sleep, and exchanges her dead child for that of the other woman. Both women swear in front of Solomon that they are the mother of the living child. The king commands that the child should be cut in half so as to be shared equally. One of the women agrees, while the other begs him not to have the child killed but to give it to the other woman. She thereby proves to the wise Solomon that she is the real mother.
B2 The Judgement of Solomon / 1547 Frans Floris I
oil on panel / Antwerp, Royal Museum of Fine Art
During the Spanish Fury of 1576, Antwerp was severely plundered by mutinous Spanish troops. The municipal authorities appealed to the citizens’ generosity to restore the interior of the badly damaged town hall. In 1584, Jan van Asseliers, a high-ranking functionary of the city, donated
this panel, which hung in the town hall until 1842. Frans Floris I took inspiration from Italian art, including Raphael, whose art he had seen in Rome shortly before. The Italian influence is visible in the arrangement of the figures, their solemn gestures and facial expressions, and in the ancient architecture and dress.
B3 William of Orange as the Commander of Wisdom / ± 1577-1578
Theodor de Bry
engraving / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
This print was made during the Eighty-Year War and is propaganda for the House of Orange. De Bry portrays William of Orange, leader of the Dutch rebels against Spanish rule, as a ‘Commander of Wisdom’. The border of grotesques contains three scenes of justice that highlight just leadership: the Judgement of Solomon, an episode from the story of Cambyses, and a scene from the less well-known story ‘The king’s brother threatened with death’. This shows how the devout monarch is able to resist the temptations and corruption that the devil is blowing in his ear.
B4 Thronus Iustitiae / 1606
Willem Isaacsz. van Swanenburg after Joachim Wtewael engravings / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Print Room
This collection of thirteen numbered engravings and a title page includes some familiar and some lesser-known examples of justice. They are intended for a public broader than judges alone. They promote good citizenship and depict the virtues one should pursue in order to merit eternal life. The numerous portrayals of kings emphasise the role of secular leaders as the medium of divine justice. A number of patriotic stories, such as the example of the Dutch Count William the Good, have a specific significance in the context of the uprising against Philip II and the birth of the Dutch Republic. Plate 4, showing Christ carrying the cross, is missing. The exact subjects of plates 11 and 12 are not known.
Title page with, clockwise from the top: Justice,
Christ, Solomon, Zaleucus, [Prudence?], Otanes,
David and Moses
01 The Meeting of Moses and Jethro 02 The Judgement of Solomon 03 Susanna before Daniel 05 The Beheading of the Roman Jurist Papinian 06 Cambyses Orders the Flaying of Judge Sisamnes
07 Count William III of Holland Orders the Beheading
of his Bailiff
08 The Judges of the Areopagus in Athens 09 Judge Bias Shedding Tears 10 Alexander the Great as Judge 11 [Allegory of Justice] 12 [Allegory of Justice] 13 The Last Judgement
B5 THE REVENGE OF TOMYRIS In his Histories, the Greek writer Herodotus of Halicarnassus tells the wartime story of the vengeful Tomyris, Queen of the Massageteans. Following her rejection of a marriage proposal by King Cyrus of Persia, he invaded her country. In the course of this conflict, Tomyris’ son, commander of the Massagetean army, was taken prisoner and committed suicide out of shame. His mother’s revenge was sweet: in a final battle, the Persians were defeated and Cyrus was killed. Tomyris had his body found and beheaded, then his head was immersed in a sack or jar full of human blood in order finally to satiate Cyrus’ bloodthirstiness. This scene of justice is probably an anti-example: judges were meant not to follow the example of this unreasonable woman who was guided purely by an urge for vengeance.
B6 The Revenge of Tomyris / 1610 Pieter Pieters
oil on canvas / Bruges, Museum of the Liberty of Bruges
Pieters painted this monumental work for the court of the Liberty of Bruges. It is a ‘reverse’ scene of justice: an example it would be better for judges not to follow. In this case, the ‘judgement’ is made by a woman. This is very exceptional, since under the ancien régime women were considered weak and unreasonable and were therefore not allowed to become judges. The monkey in the recess on the left is a symbol of stupidity and sin, which may be a reference to both Tomyris and Cyrus. The small dog symbolises bloodthirstiness. In fact dogs are often depicted in scenes of execution and the administration of justice, as in Frans Floris’ Judgement of Solomon (B2) and Gerard David’s Judgement of Cambyses (C1).
B7 The Revenge of Tomyris / 1630
Paulus Pontius after Peter Paul Rubens
engraving / Antwerp, Plantin-Moretus Museum
Tomyris is shown standing in a palace with opulent curtains and twisted baroque columns, accompanied by maids. She is giving the order that Cyrus’ head be immersed in blood. While soldiers look on, a kneeling man lays the head
in a dish of human blood, saying: ‘Now, after your death, saturate yourself in blood, for which you have thirsted throughout your life and in which you were never satiated’.
B8 THE JUSTICE OF TRAJAN In 1450, Rogier van der Weyden painted four panels for Brussels Town Hall showing the justice of Trajan and Herkinbald. Unfortunately these panels were lost during the bombardment of Brussels in 1695. We are able to reconstruct them, however, on the basis of tapestries, a number of engravings, and drawings. The story of Trajan that comments this Roman emperor’s sense of what is just is largely a matter of legend. In the course of a military campaign, one of his horsemen, which a mediaeval adaptation implied was his son, trampled a child by accident. In response to a plea by the child’s mother, Trajan has the soldier beheaded. When Pope Gregory had Trajan’s remains exhumed several centuries later, he came across a perfectly preserved tongue. He saw this as a divine sign that the emperor had been just in his decision.
B9 THE JUSTICE OF HERKINBALD Legend has it that, on his deathbed, the mediaeval monarch Herkinbald of Bourbon grabbed hold of his nephew and heir with the last of his strength and cut his throat. Herkinbald considered he could not be a worthy successor because he had raped a lady of the court. As a result of this murder, the bishop refused to give Herkinbald the last rites. But the host flew out of the ciborium of its own accord, straight into the dying man’s mouth. This was a divine sign that Herkinbald had not committed murder, but had administered a severe but just punishment.
B10 THE JUDGEMENT OF ZALEUCUS In the 7th century BC, Zaleucus was the ruler of the Greek colony of Locri in Italy. According to the Roman author Valerius Maximus, his legislation on common decency was exceptionally strict. For example, adulterers were punished by having both their eyes put out. When his son was the first to be caught in adultery, Zaleucus wanted to present an example of impartial strictness by having his eyes put out. His councillors and relatives beg him to spare his only heir, at which Zaleucus has his own right eye and his son’s left eye put out, ‘because my son’s eyes are my own eyes’. The example of Zaleucus shows the judge’s adherence to the law and the principle of impartiality that does not allow
them to be more lenient towards their own family than towards others. But it is also used as an example of the possibility of interpreting the law in various ways.
B11 SUSANNA THE CHASTE Another popular scene depicting justice is the wise judgement by the prophet Daniel in the case of the virtuous Susanna. The Bible story of the virtuous Susanna tells of the beautiful wife of the rich Joachim who, while bathing in her garden, is spied on by two old judges. When she refuses to respond to their advances, they accuse her of adultery and have her condemned to death by stoning. Before the planned execution, Daniel orders that the two men should be interrogated separately about a number of details. The two old men give conflicting answers. When they are confronted with their statements, their lies and abuse of power are made apparent, and they are themselves condemned to death. Over the centuries, artists have mainly depicted the somewhat erotic scene in which the older men spy on the naked Susanna. In the justice scenes the emphasis is on the false accusation or Daniel’s just intervention.
ROOM C
THE SKIN OF THE JUDGE Cambyses’ Judgement In 1498, at the height of his career, Gerard David completed a work for the council chamber in the town hall on commission to the aldermen of Bruges. On this occasion, it was not the Last Judgement that was chosen, but the legend of the Persian king Cambyses in the 6th century BC. It was recorded by the Greek historian Herodotus and in Flanders it was spread mainly through the Latin writings of Valerius Maximus. Sisamnes, one of the king’s supreme judges, has accepted a bribe and passed an unjust verdict. The king dismissed him from his post and condemned him to a terrible punishment: he was to be skinned alive and his skin used to cover the seat of his successor, his son Otanes. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries this story was repeatedly depicted in paintings and prints in relation to justice. In later portrayals it was mainly the scene with Otanes that was extremely popular. In Gerard David’s work this is on the right at the very
top of the second panel. Some painters and printmakers even reduced the story to a depiction of the chair covered with the skin. A terrifying image that served as the ultimate and constant reminder of the consequences of corrupt justice.
C1 The Judgement of Cambyses / 1498 Gerard David
oil on panel / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
Analogously to the story of the justice of Emperor Otto III, which Dieric Bouts painted for Leuven Town Hall in about 1475, David depicts the story in four scenes spread over two large panels: the acceptance of the bribe, the arrest of the judge, the horrific implementation of the sentence and Otanes on the judge’s chair upholstered with his father’s skin. Although the story originates in the 6th century BC, David locates it in a contemporary setting with fifteenthcentury dress and, in the background, the Bruges Poortersloge (Burghers’ Lodge) gatekeeper’s house (left-hand panel) and the town hall (right-hand panel). This enables viewers to identify with the scene better. The faces of the unmoved bystanders may be portraits of the city’s aldermen.
C2 The Judgement of Cambyses miniature from La Sale by Antoine de la Sale / 1461
Loyset Liédet
Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Manuscripts
Gerard David was very probably inspired by this miniature by Liédet, who worked for the court of Burgundy in Bruges.
Liédet illuminated this manuscript with 37 miniatures of historical and biblical scenes, most of them in grisaille, a technique he rarely used. This is not the earliest known depiction of the Cambyses story, but it is the first to show the skinning, which it does in the most horrifying detail. David adopted some of the details almost exactly: the executioner clasps his knife in his teeth, a standing figures counts the arguments on his fingers and the crowd gathers around to watch. The arrest scene is very probably inspired by a miniature from this book showing the murder of Julius Caesar.
C3 The Arrest of Sisamnes / ± 1576-1600 Antonius Claeissens
oil on panel / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
This is the only known rendering of the story of Cambyses that focuses on the arrest of Sisamnes. Claeissens clearly based it on the left-hand panel of David’s work, painted a hundred years previously. He too depicts the act of bribery in the background of the arrest scene. The panel was probably commissioned by the magistrate of the Liberty of Bruges. The figures’ individualised facial features and contemporary dress indicate that this is a group portrait. Incidentally, some of those portrayed look like figures in the allegorical banquet that Claeissens painted for the town hall (D2/3 ).
C4 The Judgement of Cambyses / 1597 Jean de Saive
oil on panel / Namur, Collection of the City of Namur
Jean de Saive painted a triptych for the town hall in Namur, but only the side panels have been preserved. The lost middle panel probably depicted the Last Judgement. On the outer sides of the two remaining panels - visible when the triptych is closed - we see two episodes from the story of Cambyses: on the left is the flaying and on the right Otanes on the judge’s chair, with his father’s skin hanging next to him on the wall. Sisamnes was not flayed while lying down, but standing upright, tied to a pillar. The scenes are painted in grisaille, a technique often used on the outer side of painted panels. On the inside of these panels are portraits of the aldermen of Namur, identified by their coat of arms and an inscription.
C5 The Judgement of Cambyses / ± 1628-1680 Remoldus Eynhoudt after Peter Paul Rubens etching / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
In 1623 Rubens painted two justice scenes for Brussels Town Hall: a Judgement of Solomon and a Judgement of Cambyses. Both works were destroyed in the bombardments of 1695, but are known by means of several copies and also of prints.
In this etching by Eynhoudt we see Otanes bowing respectfully to Cambyses, who is appointing him as a judge. While the king hands him the ceremonial judge’s staff, his father’s skin is stretched out above him like a baldachin. This focus on a single dramatic scene is typical of the Baroque, whereas in earlier versions a number of scenes are depicted so as to form a continuous story.
CABINETS D
JUSTICE AS PRACTICED In these rooms we reflect on the practice of law in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. Under the ancien régime there was no separation of powers and therefore no independent judicial power. It was mainly the customary law that was applied, consisting of local rules and procedures that had developed over time and were passed down by word of mouth. As from the Late Middle Ages, written documents played an increasingly important part in law and courts. Roman and canon law were studied at the universities and this ‘scholarly’ law worked its way into everyday practice. There was increased professionalism, with such new groups of professions as advocates, proctors and public prosecutors. A university degree was necessary to qualify for the higher judicial posts. As from 1530 the monarch ordered that the customary law be written down. It was not until the French Revolution that a new system of law appeared, born out of the Enlightenment, which is still largely applicable today.
Rooms D2 and D3 focus on the administration of justice in Bruges and on the Bruges jurist Joos de Damhouder, a much-cited authority on criminal law and the law of criminal procedure. The penultimate room presents a fascinating aspect of the ‘exemplary’ criminal law of the ancien régime : bloody methods of torture and executions. But first, in Room D1, we explore in greater depth a topic that has already been touched upon: the importance of just judges.
ROOM D1 JUST JUDGES The numerous depictions of the story of Cambyses in the previous room illustrate the importance of just and incorruptible judges. Every secular judge has to be aware that he has an exceptional task, for which he will be answerable on the Last Day. Being answerable only to God, the courts have the power to judge on matters of life and death. The judge has to come to a decision on earth in the same way as God does in the Last Judgement. He must be honest and impartial and no emotions should influence the judicial outcome. As in any situation where power is exercised, the abuse of power is a danger in the law courts too. Corrupt judges in particular appear frequently in literature and art, as in the Last Judgement in Maastricht and in the Judgement of Cambyses. Judges are also seen accepting bribes in the stained glass, drawings and prints exhibited here.
D1/1 Litis Abusus (The Abuses of Litigation) / ± 1597 Philips Galle
engravings / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Print Room
This series of eight engravings denounces the ‘abuses of the law’. In particular, the litigious nature of lawyers and the costly and drawn-out trials are targeted. The legal scholar Joos de Damhouder - who features prominently in gallery D3 – is also annoyed by the fact that there are too few honest lawyers. Instead of advising their clients to compromise as much as possible, they encourage them to keep introducing new procedures out of pure avarice. 01 Egoism Dispels the Virtues 02 Abuse of Commercial Law 03 Desire and Other Bad Advisers for the Court Case 04 Three Bags (Paper, Patience and Money) for
the Court Case
05 Anyone who Takes Legal Action Neglects Everything Else 06 Sleepless Nights for Those Who Take Legal Action 07 The Dangers of Litigation 08 The Death of the Litigant
D1/2 Justice, Truth and Intellect in the Stocks / ± 1521-1528 Attributed to Albrecht Dürer
woodcut / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
This satirical engraving shows a fraudulent judge, recognisable by his rod of justice, on a dais. Displayed above him is the inscription: Ich bin die Betrugnus (I am deceit). The cradle with the sleeping child at his feet stands for peace-fulness. To the left are the personifications of justice (whose wrists have been tied to a pole), truth (whose lips have been sealed with a lock) and reason (whose fingers are stuck in a clamp). The message is clear: with a corrupt judge, justice, truth and reason are powerless.
D1/3 The Incorruptible Judge design for a stained-glass window / ± 1565-1574
Dirck Pietersz. Crabeth,
drawing / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
Crabeth is one of the few artists who not only designed stained-glass windows but who also painted them himself. He has a strong preference for rectangular glass panels, as can be seen in this sketch. The judge in the scene is approached by a poor man and a rich man. While the poor man kneels tentatively, the rich man places a number of coins at the judge’s side. We can only guess whether the judge will let himself be influenced by the money.
D1/4 Allegory of Just Justice / Âą 1525-1550 Pieter Coecke van Aelst I
stained glass / Ghent, STAM
This stained-glass window is unsigned but can be ascribed to Pieter Coecke van Aelst I on the basis of stylistic features, among others the grotesque and other Renaissance motifs. The judge, holding the rod of justice, must pass judgement on a dispute between a poor farmer and a rich artisan who is trying to bribe the judge. A moralising inscription in the cartouche under the depiction urges the fair administration of justice.
D1/5 Unidentified Scene / Âą 1525-1540 Anonymous
stained glass / Southern Germany, Private collection
Four men in the foreground are talking while pointing to a purse. Two men have removed their hats out of respect for the figure holding the rod of justice. Are they here to plead a case? Through a doorway we witness a scene in the background. That is where the man with the rod of justice sits enthroned, with before him perhaps the same men. The judge, resting on his right hand, seems to be sleeping.
If the judge sleeps, injustice has free rein. Or is the judge holding his right hand against his right ear to signify that he will hear both sides, whereby each party is entitled to the right to defend himself in equal measure?
D1/6 The Corruptible Judge / 1525
Anonymous
stained glass / Southern Germany, Private collection
The judge in this stained-glass window is not blind to gold. The scales in his right hand are tipped by the coins of a wealthy man. With a surprised gaze, the judge watches how the point of his sword melts like candlewax.
D1/7 The Corruptibility of the Judiciary / 1510 Anonymous
stained glass / Southern Germany, Private collection
The nude ladies on this little stained-glass window represent Justitia (holding a sword) and Veritas (holding a book). The man behind Justitia scatters gold coins over her, while Veritas is prevented from speaking by a lock on her mouth: in the case of bribery, justice is powerless (her sword rests on the ground) and the truth remains hidden. This little panel probably came from a private residence, where such a critical work would find a home more easily than in official buildings.
D1/8 Allegory of Just Justice / ± 1525-1550 Pieter Coecke van Aelst I
stained glass / Ghent, STAM
This stained-glass window represents the saying ‘the fool sits in dignity, the wise men sit on the lowest step’. In other words, everything goes wrong when fools rule and wise men have nothing to say. The fool, the figure under the canopy, with a rolled-up deed in his hand (a procedural document?), resembles a judge. The stained-glass window - together with D1/4 - was probably part of a series that may have decorated a public building such as a town hall or court of justice, like most stained-glass panels in this room. They had not only a decorative but also a didactic function.
D1/9 Allegory of Ghent Justice / 1697 Jan van Cleef
oil on canvas / Ghent, STAM
This mantel painting was made for the registry of the court of justice of Gedele in Ghent, an institution that was competent for, among others, the guardianship of minors. It shows two cardinal virtues: Fortitudo or Strength to the left, with pillar and sword and before her a small fire, and Justice to the right, with sword and scales, who is crushing a snake, the symbol of evil. The woman with the letter in
between them, the personification of the court, lifts a signet ring to her lips, thereby referring to the duty of confidentiality of the aldermen-judges. Two characters embellish the work: a naked putto below leans against the coat of arms of Ghent, and an angelic figure above holds a laurel wreath.
ROOM D2 THE ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE IN BRUGES Prior to the French Revolution, the Netherlands comprised a patchwork of jurisdictions. There were also several different courts at work in Bruges. Depending on the nature and location of the offence, the people of Bruges could be summoned to one of a number of courts. Inside the town walls, it was the board of municipal aldermen that was the most important court. The court of the Liberty of Bruges had authority over the castellany, an extensive administrative area around Bruges bounded by the North Sea, the Western Scheldt and the River Yser. The Proosdij (‘Deanery’) was the administrative body for the dual clerical realm of the Dean and the Canons tied to the church of St Donatius. The provosts of the chapter of St Donatius administered justice for a number of districts of the city and dozens of villages outside it. All these bodies were based at the Burg, which was the judicial heart of the city. The view of the Burg by Van Meuninckxhove shows the Town Hall, the Manor House of the Liberty of Bruges and the baroque Deanery. The church of St Donatius, demolished after the French Revolution, is also shown.
Under the ancien régime, the Council of Flanders, which met at the Castle of the Counts in Ghent, monitored the lower justice institutions and passed judgement on serious crimes such as lèse majesté and appeals in civil cases. As from 1473, the Parliament (in the meaning of supreme court) that covered the whole of the Netherlands was based in Mechelen. As from 1504 it became the Great Council.
D2/1 Bruges Town Hall from Over de grootdadigheit der breedvermaarde regeringhe van de stad Brugghe by Joos de Damhouder / 1684
Anonymous
engraving / Bruges, Public Library
This illustration showing Bruges town hall appeared in Damhouder’s Over de grootdadigheit der breedvermaarde regeringhe van de stad Brugghe, a eulogy on the city and its institutions. He added this to his legal treaty Patrocinium pupillorum, which appeared in Bruges in 1544 and was updated in 1564. It deals with the guardianship of orphans and the mentally deficient, and with poor relief in Bruges. At the time, a fierce debate raged over who should organise the poor relief: the local church or the city. Damhouder, at the time a council pensionary of the city, chose decidedly for the latter solution.
D2/2 Court Session in the Magistrates’ Chamber of the Liberty of Bruges / 1659 Gillis van Tilborgh
oil on canvas / Bruges, Museum of the Liberty of Bruges
This painting was commissioned from the Brussels artist Gillis van Tilborgh by the aldermen of the castellany of the Liberty of Bruges. The latter are shown during a session of the court in their courtroom, which is faithfully represented with the monumental Renaissance fireplace designed by Lancelot Blondeel. On the wall to the left we distinguish a key work in the Groeningemuseum: the Last Judgement by Pieter Pourbus (A4). It hung in its original location, in the Manor House of the Liberty of Bruges, until the nineteenth century. After restoration work was carried out on the building, it was replaced by a copy by the Romantic painter Henri Dobbelaere.
D2/3 The Banquet / 1574 Antonius Claeissens
oil on panel / Bruges, Groeningemuseum
In this Biblical scene, the drunken King Ahasuerus dispatches his servant to Queen Vashti. She refuses to come, however, after which he repudiates her. This work was probably commissioned by the town council of Bruges
(or by one of its members) for the town hall. The goblets bear the coat of arms of Bruges and the figures are portraits. Inscriptions identify two of them as pensionarytreasurer Filips van Belle and town magistrate Jan de Schietere. The hand gesture made by some of the men can be interpreted as an oath-taking. Perhaps the men were swearing loyalty as local representatives to their sovereign, Philip II of Spain, portrayed as Ahasuerus.
ROOM D3 JOOS DE DAMHOUDER: BRUGES’ FIRST JURIST WITH INTERNATIONAL INFLUENCE Joos de Damhouder was born in Bruges in 1507 and gained an international reputation as a scholar of law. After studying in Leuven and OrlÊans he returned to his native city in 1532 and occupied several important judicial posts there: advocate, council pensionary of the city of Bruges (comparable to the present-day city secretary) and clerk of the criminal court (the man who writes out the judgements in criminal cases). During his search for good treatises on criminal law, he came upon a manuscript by the Ghent law scholar Filips Wielant (1441-1520) and appropriated it for himself without the slightest scruple. He translated it word for word into Latin, added personal experiences and investigations and in 1554 had it published under his own name as Praxis rerum criminalium. This work was already extremely successful during his lifetime: several abridged editions appeared in French, Dutch and German and it was reprinted many times until the seventeenth century. What was new about this judicial manual was its numerous illustrations, which the author supervised personally.
His Praxis rerum civilium or Practycke in civile saecken, published in 1567, covering court procedure for civil cases, was also an international success. Damhouder died in Antwerp on 22 January 1581.
D3/1 Title page of Practyke Civile by Philips Wielant / 1642 Anonymous
engraving / Bruges, Public Library
In 1567 Damhouder published a new book that deals with judicial proceedings in civil cases. It is again borrowed from a work by Filips Wielant, the Practyke Civile. On the title page of this edition of Wielant’s work published in Rotterdam, we see to the left the emperor with sword and orb and, to the right, a legal scholar carrying a book. A blindfolded Justitia with sword and balance in perfect equilibrium is seated above.
D3/2 Consultation in the Lawyer’s Office from Practijcke in civile saecken by Joos de Damhouder / 1649
Anonymous
engraving / Bruges, Public Library
This illustration accompanying a chapter in Damhouder’s Practijcke in civile saecken emphasises the importance of
proper consultation and advice before launching into a trial. We see a lawyer in his office: the learned jurist writes, surrounded by books. Well-dressed clients and money on the table indicate a ‘costly’ justice. On the wall and in the hands of one of the characters we see ‘proceszakken’ or ‘trial bags’ in which legal documents were preserved. Because the bag was hung on a little hook for the duration of the trial, it was called the ‘za(a)k hangende’ (a pun in Dutch on hanging bag/pending case). Does the bird cage mean that the lawyer has ‘caught’ the party involved in the trial?
D3/3 Torture Scene from Praxis rerum criminalium by Joos de Damhouder / 1562
Anonymous
engraving / Private collection
Damhouder’s Praxis rerum criminalium is a manual for jurists. In it he describes the punishments suited to the various crimes - homicide, sexual offences, forms of extortion, theft and fraud, etc. - as those punishments had developed in common law. In addition, the most important phases of criminal proceedings are represented, including torture. What is particular to the example shown here is that engravings have been stuck to the empty places reserved for the woodcuts.
D3/4 Title page of De practyke van civile en criminele saken by Joos de Damhouder / 1656 Anonymous
engraving / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Precious Works
Damhouder’s Praxis rerum criminalium and Praxis rerum civilium were legal bestsellers for centuries. Both treatises went through several editions in different languages. Combined editions with the two manuals were also published. To the left and the right of the title we see the (Roman) emperor and Lady Justice. A civil trial is shown above. Below we see the torture and execution practices of criminal law.
ROOM D4 EXEMPLARY CRIMINAL LAW In the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern periods, judges tried to maintain order by means of severe sentences and bloody executions. Hours of cruel torture were imposed to try to extract confessions from the suspect. For certain crimes the accused was sentenced to death. Those who were able to avoid this risked being punished by physical and psychological torment. Penitential pilgrimages and banishment were also very popular. The gruesome punishments made an example of the criminal and were intended to warn and frighten fellow citizens. This is why executions were carried out in public places and usually on a scaffold, always in front of a large crowd. One fascinating aspect of criminal law was what were called ‘penalty pieces’, such as fists and heads of justice in metal. The accompanying plaques give the reason for the punishment, the date and the name of the offender. They were hung up in or near courts of law and, like the scenes of justice, served as examples to the citizens. These objects were mostly imposed in cases of disrespect towards or rebellion against figures of authority. In most cases they were only part of the punishment.
On many occasions, the convicted offender also had to ask for forgiveness in public, endure a shameful punishment or pay a fine, and sometimes was even banished.
D4/1 Justice Bust of Jan Reingoot? / 1558 Anonymous
brass / Veurne, Veurne Town Council
In 1558 the town magistracy of Veurne sentenced Jan Reingoot for libel and threats to a triple sentence, including defraying the costs of this ‘bust of justice’ and the accompanying plate. A ring or lock through the lips refers to Reingoot’s seditious language, as the spokesman of a group of farmers. In the midst of the war between Spain and France, French soldiers had stolen their horses, as a result of which they could not work their land. Armed with sticks, the farmers had expressed their discontent to the council of the shire of Veurne on the main square of that town.
D4/2 The Execution of Joseph Mesure in front of the Manor House of the Liberty of Bruges, 1767 Attributed to Jan Anton Garemijn
oil on canvas / Bruges, Museum of the Liberty of Bruges
This painting is ascribed to Jan Anton Garemijn, the leading painter in eighteenth-century Bruges. It shows the
execution of Joseph Mesure, a farmer who was sentenced to death by the aldermen of the castellany of the Liberty of Bruges for fraud and perjury, as can be read on the board around his neck. In the morning of 14 March 1767 he ascended the ladder to the gallows on the Burg square. A curious crowd presses itself around the condemned man and a number of prominent figures watch in the background from the Manor House of the Liberty of Bruges. A clergyman attends the condemned man in his last moments.
D4/3 Fist of Justice / ± 1405-1417 Anonymous
chased silver / Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum
This clenched or ‘fist of justice’ was made at life size, modelled on an actual fist. It is not known what crime was committed, but it was probably a case of physical aggression against an officer of the law. Sometimes such a fist was also fitted with the weapon with which the condemned man had assaulted the public servant, such as a dagger or an axe. The expensive material indicates in any case that the criminal was not without means. The fist was exhibited as a warning in the chambers of the castellany of the Liberty of Bruges.
D4/4 Justice Bust of Pieter van der Gote / 1464 Jan van der Toolne
chased silver / Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum
This is the only known ‘bust of justice’ in silver. It was made by Jan van der Toolne, a silversmith from Bruges who also carried out commissions for Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy. Archival research links this bust to Pieter van der Gote of Dudzele. We do not know what crime he committed, but the punishments imposed on him by the tribunal of the castellany of the Liberty of Bruges lead us to suspect that he must have offended the authorities gravely: besides having to defray the cost of this ‘bust’, he was banished from Flanders. The bust was displayed with a metal railing around it in the tribunal of the Liberty of Bruges.
D4/5 Justitia (Justice) / ± 1559
Philips Galle after Pieter Bruegel I
engraving / Antwerp, Museum Mayer van den Bergh
In the series The Seven Virtues, Bruegel depicts the three theological (Faith, Hope and Charity) and four cardinal virtues (Justice, Prudence, Temperance and Courage). In the engraving about Justice he shows scenes from the contemporary course of proceedings in criminal cases. Justitia stands at the centre on a pedestal. To the front right,
a suspect is brought before the judges. To the left and in the background we see cruel torture practices, in particular torture by water, and executions (beheading, hanging on the gallows, the stake, etc.). It may seem as though Bruegel is here characteristically exaggerating things, but it is unfortunately a realistic picture of the terrifying deterrents imposed by the criminal law of his day.
D4/6 Execution Scene from Praxis rerum criminalium by Joos de Damhouder / 1565
Anonymous
woodcut / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Precious Works
A number of spectacular corporal punishments and death sentences are depicted as a deterrent in this engraving from a German edition of Praxis rerum criminalium. In the foreground, a blindfolded man, holding a crucifix, is being beheaded. Somewhat higher a man is being burned. Beside him a condemned man is being pulled up a ladder to be hung. And a bit further up still, on a scaffold, someone is being whipped. The magistrate watches attentively, under the direction of the bailiff (the prince’s local representative) who holds a rod of justice.
D4/7 Title page of Practycke in criminele saecken by Joos de Damhouder / 1618 Anonymous
engraving / Bruges, Public Library
Justitia graces the top centre of this title page from Damhouder’s manual, while the bottom centre shows the example of justice given by Count William the Good of Holland: the terminally ill count uses his sword to kill one of his bailiffs by his own hand because the latter had abused his office. Also visible are criminal-law practices, clockwise from top left: the burning of condemned people, beheadings, the strappado (hanging someone from a pulley by the hands and sometimes also by the feet) and the strapping to the saltire, torture by hanging and stretching, stocks (having one’s legs fastened in a block), and lastly hanging.
ROOM E
JUSTITIA from Cardinal Virtue to Political Ideal Today we are familiar with Justitia as a blindfolded woman holding a sword and scales. But where does this image originate? Her Latin name might lead us to believe that she was originally a goddess of antiquity. But this is not the case. She only appeared in late antiquity and was one of the four cardinal virtues. In addition to Justitia (Justice), Prudentia (Wisdom/ Prudence), Temperantia (Moderation) and Fortitudo (Strength) are all crucial to a virtuous life. The virtues are personified by women, each with her own symbols. Justitia’s scales represent fairness and powers of judgement, while her sword stands for severity and punishment. Both these symbols have theological roots. In the Last Judgement, Archangel Michael weighs the souls of the dead with a set of scales and separates the good from the bad with a sword. Christ too often uses a sword in the Last Judgement. Justitia’s blindfold only appeared around 1500. This symbol was contentious: initially it
had an emphatically negative connotation, but it evolved towards a symbol of impartiality. Around the same time Justitia detached herself from the other cardinal virtues. She was claimed by the political world as the ‘queen of the virtues’. From then on she represented ‘justice’ and appeared on public buildings where justice was or is administered.
E1 St Michael the Archangel and St Agnes / Âą 1490 Colijn de Coter
oil on panel Greenville (South Carolina), Bob Jones Museum and Art Gallery
Colijn de Coter depicts the Archangel Michael as a weigher of souls alongside St Agnes with her lamb. Using his crossed staff, Michael is about to impale a hairy devil who is grabbing at a naked female soul who is praying on his scales. In the lowest pan lies a red wax seal as used by monarchs and high-ranking clerics to authenticate documents.
E2 Archangel Michael Kills Satan and Weighs a Soul / 1506
Lucas Cranach I
woodcut / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
The winged Archangel Michael is raising his sword to kill Satan, who is sitting in one of the pans of his scales in the form of a dragon. In the other pan is the soul of a dead person. At the left and top right are the Electoral and the Ducal coats of arms of Saxony.
E3 Justice in front of the Judgement of Zaleucus and the Judgement of Cambyses / ± 1590-1638 Willem Jacobsz. Delff
engraving / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
This engraving shows Justitia between two examples. One is the story of Cambyses, with the execution of the corrupt judge Sisamnes. On a platform on the left we see Zaleucus, who is having one of his son’s eyes put out. The punishments are explained in French and Dutch on two banderoles, while at the bottom appears a verse mentioning Justitia’s blindfold.
E4 Justice in front of the Judgement of Solomon and the Justice of Trajan miniature from an illuminated manuscript after Margarita philosophica by Gregorius Reisch / 1505
Anonymous
Ghent, University Library
This miniature illustrates a manuscript made for Raphael de Mercatellis, abbot, bibliophile and illegitimate son of Philip the Good. Its source of inspiration is a printed manual entitled Margarita Philosophica, by the German Carthusian monk Gregorius Reisch. This encyclopaedic survey of what at the time counted as science contains twelve chapters in
the form of dialogues between a master and his pupil. The miniatures show the cardinal virtues with their emblems and related images in the foreground or background. In this miniature on the subject of justice, behind Justitia with her sword and book of laws we see familiar scenes of justice: on the left the Judgement of Solomon and on the right the Judgement of Trajan.
E5 Allegory of Justice / 1st half of 16th century Attributed to Domenico Beccafumi
oil on canvas / Lille, Palais des Beaux-Arts
This allegory shows Lady Justice as the queen of virtues. She towers above the virtues and vices in a circle of light, with her sword and a palm branch in her hands and a crown and cross on her head. The unusual position of the scales, on her head, suggests that a fair judgement is determined by reason. A man is offering her a figure of Veritas, a reference to the role of Truth in making a fair judgement. The chained deadly sins beg for forgiveness at the pedestal on which Justitia is standing. The widow and orphans in the foreground represent the needy, who deserve special treatment under the system of law.
E6 Mundus delirans, non sapit, quae dei sunt from Joannes David, Veridicus Christianus / 1601
Theodoor Galle
engraving / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Precious Works
This is one of the hundred illustrations in Veridicus Christianus or Christian Sooth-Sayer by the Jesuit Johannes David, a moralising book of emblems that was intended to encourage a virtuous Christian life. As in Sebastian Brants’ Ship of Fools (E14), a fool is standing in the way of a good judicial process. In the scales he is holding over the ‘Mundus Delirans’ - the crazed world - matters of faith are weighed against material goods. ‘Mundus Delirans’ makes luxury outweigh piety, but in her stupidity she pushes the sacred items upwards, towards Our Lady. This emblem is intended to demonstrate that the earthly world and its justice are fallible.
E7 The Sun of Justice (Sol Justitiae) / ± 1497-1501 Albrecht Dürer
engraving / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
In this print, Dürer merges Justitia with Christ to form a ‘Sol Justitiae’ (Sun of Justice). This combined divinity, with legs crossed, is sitting on a lion. Judges, who ‘are able to make the sign of the cross over someone’ by sentencing
them to death, are often portrayed in this pose. The lion symbolises the power of Justitia, as in Ripa’s Forza alla Giustitia. Dürer’s ‘Sol Justitiae’, dominated by light, even as far as its flaming eyes, sees everything.
E8 Beschriivinghe vande Wereltsche Iustitie from Practycke in civile saecken by Joos de Damhouder / 1626
Anonymous
engraving / Ghent, University Library
As from 1562, an ambiguous print depicting secular justice was included in Damhouder’s Praxis rerum criminalium. Justitia, with two faces, sits on a throne wearing armour. Her blindfolded face looks at the innocent orphans, poor and widows on the right; her uncovered face is subject to bribery and is looking at the wealthy people on the left. She here symbolises the secular judge who has to treat both parties equally. He must judge impartially by observing keenly what the wealthy communicate to him and close his eyes benignly for the weaker people. According to Damhouder, this secular judge is in any case fallible: only God is capable of perfect justice.
E9 Crucifixion with the Virgin and Saint John / ± 1525 Bernard van Orley
oil on panel / Rotterdam, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen
This is the middle panel of a triptych whose side panels have not been preserved. It shows the crucified Christ with Mary and John. Above them we see God the Father and the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove. Two other figures are shown on banks of clouds next to the cross. On the left is a woman with four naked children with above them, in Latin, ‘I shall distribute this precious blood among the needy’. This is Caritas (Charity), and it is a portrait of Orley’s patron Margaret of Austria. The woman on the right, Justitia, is probably a portrait of Isabella of Austria, wife of Christian II of Denmark. This sort of personification is rarely found in depictions of the crucifixion.
E10 Iustitia and Iniustitia / 1594-1595 Hans Vredeman de Vries
oil on canvas Gdańsk, Muzeum Historyczne Miasta Gdańska
This work is one of a series of seven allegorical paintings that Vredeman de Vries did for the council chamber in the new town hall while he was in Danzig (Gdańsk). The series shows the qualities of virtuous governance and ends with
the Last Judgement. The presence of Lady Justice in each of the paintings emphasises the strong connection between justice and good governance. Here we see the contrast between good justice, with incorruptible judges (left), and bad justice with corrupt judges grabbing at bribes (right). In the foreground, poor people in search of justice are (left) or are not (right) getting a hearing.
E11 The Tribunal of the Brabant Mint in Antwerp draft drawing for a painting / 1594
Maerten de Vos
drawing / Antwerp, Rockoxhuis
This is the preliminary drawing for a scene of justice that Maerten de Vos painted in 1594 for the tribunal of the Brabant Mint (the mint of the Duchy of Brabant, based in Antwerp). In the middle, Justitia is triumphing over deceit and violence. She is surrounded by historical figures: on the left is Moses with the tablets containing the law and Emperor Justinian, who codified Roman law; on the right is Numa Pompilius, the second king of Rome who issued sacred laws, with behind him his wife, the nymph Egeria. At the far right we see the Roman scholar Caius Plinius Secundus. In the background stand the commissioners of the painting, the judges of the Brabant Mint in their black robes with ruffs.
E12 Sword of Justice / beginning of 16th Century Anonymous
steel and leather / Bruges, Gruuthusemuseum
This sort of sword was used in the practice of law in the Late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period. The three main means of execution in sixteenth-century criminal law were hanging on the gallows, burning at the stake and beheading with a sword. Execution swords have a round or flat end and a sharp blade. They are not made for stabbing, but to chop off the head with a horizontal stroke. The fairly quick death of beheading with a sword was a relatively painless means of execution and was thus the privilege of members of the nobility.
E13 Coin Scales and Weight Box / ± 1750-1755 Gérard de Corduanier
wood and copper / Ghent, Ghent University
This type of small scales that is easy to stow away was used by goldsmiths to assess the gold value of coins. The person weighing the gold used the small copper weights in the box. On the label of this one we see an illustration of Justitia sitting on a lion. She reminds us of the need to act justly. After all, the Bible says: ‘You must do no wrong when administering justice. ... You will use accurate scales and
correct weights’. The accuracy of these scales was assured by Gérard de Corduanier, a sworn inspector of weights and measures in Bruges around 1750.
E14 A Fool Blindfolding Justice from Das Narrenschiff by Sebastian Brant / 1494
Attributed to Albrecht Dürer engraving / Private collection
A blindfold Justitia first turned up in the iconography of the law in 1494, in this illustration from Sebastian Brants’ Ship of Fools attributed to Dürer. In this socially critical and moralising book, this German scholar of law intended, by confronting them with negative examples, to summon all people to lead a virtuous life, and especially those with a position of responsibility in society. In this woodcut Justitia has been blindfolded by a fool. This mocking picture illustrates a chapter about unnecessary, exhausting and expensive legal proceedings. The blindfolding is a warning to both those seeking legal redress and the officers of the law and shows how a good judicial process can be obstructed.
E15 Sancta Iusticia from the third official edition of the Nürnberg Statutes / 1521
Albrecht Dürer
hand-coloured and gilded woodcut / Private collection
This hand-coloured print is printed on the back of the title page of the third official edition of the Statutes of Nürnberg, a collection of laws, mainly civil and procedural. In this case, ‘Holy Justice’ is a winged angel crowned as ‘queen of the virtues’, with a sword in the right hand and a perfectly balanced set of scales in the left. Next to her sits Abundantia (Abundance), who is pouring coins over the city. At the bottom, angels are holding up the arms of the city and the coat of arms of the Holy Roman Empire. The message is clear: if law is guaranteed, trade can flourish and generate wealth.
E16 Title page of Derden Placcaet-Boeck van Vlaenderen / 1685 Anonymous
engraving / Ghent, University Library
The title of this collection of laws is flanked by Justice and Peace (Pax). After 1500, these two virtues often occurred as a duo in works of art, sometimes in a close embrace, as in the drawing by Maerten de Vos, but also on the title
pages and frontispieces of treatises on law. In theory, justice leads to peace and order, the ideal pursued by the power of the state, which at that moment identifies with the virtue Justitia.
E17 Justitia (Justice) Conquers Violentia (Violence) / 1579
Johann Sadeler I after Maerten de Vos engraving / Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum
The cardinal virtue of Justice is sitting on a throne with her scales and sword in her hands and is trampling on the personification of Violentia (Violence), a half-naked woman with snakes as hair and surrounded by riches of all sorts. Neither wealth, power nor weapons can triumph when justice rules.
E18 Prudentia (Prudence) and Justitia (Justice) / 1537 Cornelis Bos after Maarten van Heemskerck
engraving / Brussels, Royal Library of Belgium, Print Room
Justitia is often portrayed with Prudentia (Wisdom/ Prudence). Together, they refer to ‘juris-prudence’, the profound knowledge of the law. Here, the two virtues are sitting next to each other on a stone block. The blindfolded Justitia is holding her sword and scales in her hands.
Prudentia also has her attributes: a mirror for self-knowledge and a snake around her arm representing caution.
E19 Justice Conquers the Seven Deadly Sins / ± 1570-1613 Antonius Claeissens
oil on panel / Private Foundation
Justitia, surrounded by clouds, appears with a set of scales and a flaming sword. The seven deadly sins are chained to the belt round her waist: lust, gluttony, avarice, wrath, envy, idleness and pride. The crown above her head and the biblical inscription on the banderole in God’s hand (‘break them with an iron rod’) indicate that she is the only one who can defeat the deadly sins. Claeissens took as the basis for this painting an etching by Luca Penni, who in his turn was inspired by a painting by Giorgio Vasari for the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome, in which he was the first to combine Justice with the seven deadly sins.
E20 Justice / ± 1591-1595
Workshop of Jacob de Gheyn II
engraving / Antwerp, Museum Plantin-Moretus
This print is part of a series that depicts the seven virtues in the form of tondos. The fourth virtue, in the middle of the row, is a triumphant Justitia, pictured with a laurel wreath
and a semi-transparent blindfold that has slipped down. Her strange, somewhat absent look and full lips are typical of De Gheyn’s mannerist style. Her breasts and nipples are accentuated and are intended for a male audience that has to be persuaded to follow her - and the other virtues.
THE ART OF LAW Three Centuries of Justice Depicted Groeningemuseum / 28 October 2016 > 5 February 2017
Texts Tine Van Poucke, in collaboration with Georges Martyn, Stefan Huygebaert and Vanessa Paumen Translator Gregory Ball Graphic design PK Projects Printing Media Luna Catalogue Read more about the exhibition in the catalogue, published in Dutch and English. 208 pages / 29.99 euro / Published by Lannoo On sale in the museum shop and other bookshops We attach great importance to sustainability. If you do not want to take this visitor guide with you, you can leave it in the box in room E. You will find more info about related activities (guided tours, walks in the city, talks, congress) at www.museabrugge.be
MUSEA
BRUGGE
KENNISCENTRUM VZW.
D5 D4 D3 E
D2 D1
C
A
B
A Divine Judgement, Worldly Justice B Exempla Iustitiae: Inspiring Examples C The Skin of the Judge: Cambyses’ Judgement D Justice as Practiced D1 Just Judges D2 The Administration of Justice in Bruges D3 Joos de Damhouder: Bruges’ First Jurist with International Influence D4 Exemplary Criminal Law D5 Catalogue for perusal E Justitia, from Cardinal Virtue to Political Ideal