Description:From the Seven Virtues series, this work illustrates the artist’s interpretation of justice with a high degree of detail and line work. Intricately composed with a wealth of imagery, a mass of figures abound throughout the image.
Engraved in c. 1559, this piece is printed on a fine laid paper with a strong black impression. This work is engraved in reverse of a drawing dated 1559 in the Royal Library, Brussels. A lifetime impression from the only state of two by Philips Galle based on an original work by Pieter Bruegel featuring the inscribed text plate along the lower margin on watermarked paper dating the piece to c. 1559 – 1591 (Gothic P with Flower, Br. 8715 - 8723) .
Said of this work, “Justice on a pedestal carries a sword and is blindfolded. She is presiding over the varied punishments ordered by a court that seems pitiless rather than merciful. All the legal practices of the sixteenth century are re-enacted before our eyes: torture, mutilation, whipping, strappado, beheading, hanging, the rack, and burning at the stake.” (Lavalleye 201) The lower text of the image translates as saying, The aim of law is either to correct him who is punished, or to improve others by his punishment, or to provide that others live more securely by removing wrongdoers.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
It is fully documented and referenced in the below catalogue raisonnés and texts (copies will be enclosed as added documentation with the invoices that will accompany the final sale of the work) :
1. van Bastelaer, René, The Prints of Peter Bruegel the Elder, 1992, image listed as plate 135 on page 180.
2. Briquet, C.M. Les Filigranes, Dictionnaire Historique des Marques du Papier, Tome III L-O. Verlag: Leipzig, 1923. Watermark listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 8715 – 8723 on pg. 468.
3. Klein, H. Arthur, Graphic Worlds of Peter Bruegel the Elder, 1963, image listed as plate 51 on page 233, discussion on pages 231-232.
4. Lavalleye, Jacques, Pieter Bruegel the Elder, image listed as Bruegel 65.
5. Longstreet, Stephen, A Treasury of the World’s Great Prints, 1961, listed as image 21 on page 46.
About the Framing:
Set in a Spanish style bronze and gold frame, the ribbon detailing of the moulding compliments the meandering curved shapes within the image. Decorative detail echo acanthus leaves which evoke a classical aura to the work. Completed with white, linen-wrapped mats with a matching gold inner fillet, Justice is set behind an archival Plexiglas® cover.
