Imago iuris in the allegorie van justitia met doodzonden visual culture of law: the pictura of the european inquisitve system during the 16th century

Authors

  • José Calvo González Universidad de Málaga Spain

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24310/rejie.vi26.14127

Keywords:

Visual Culture of Law, Allegory of Justice, European procedural reforms of the s. XVII, Inquisitive process, Dutch painting of the s. XVI, French engravings of the s. XVI, Criminal Praxis, Torture, Legal Iconography, Themis vs, Diké, Legal Education, Jean de Milles de Souvigny (1490?- 1563), Pieter Claeissens de Oude (ca. 1499-1576), Pieter Bruegel de Oude (1525-1569), Antoon Claeissens (ca. 1536-1613), Joos de Damhouder (1507-1581).

Abstract

The text offers the visual analysis of oil on panel, Justitia Zeven Hoofdzonden, work of Antoon Claeissens (ca. 1536-1613), dated to 1584, comparing other versions how are Iusticia etching, by Luca Penni (c.1500-1504- 1556), realized by Le?on Davent, engraver of the mid of s. XVI, and also oil on panel by Pieter Claeissens de Oude (ca. 1499- 1576) bearing the title Justitia overwint de zeven hoofdzonden (1570-1613). The A. maintains that the medieval roots of the theme of these three works, related to the allegory of the seven deadly sins, has a legal dimension connected to procedural reforms undertaken by Francis I of France for the transition from the accusatory to the inquisitive system to the Ordonnance Villers -Cotterets (Ordonnance sur le fait de la Justice, 1539) In this sense, it introduces new visual references, such as the Iusticia, by Pieter Bruegel de Oude (1525-1569), engraved (1559) by Philips Galle (1537-1612), and highlights specific functional elements about the defendant's ignorance of the charges formulated against him, and the effective practice of the probative diligence of torture (judicial torture) .The explanatory force of the visual culture of the Law is highlighted in this way. In fact, it will be seen as a real alternative to legal knowledge exclusively derived from the textual, such as Praxis rerum criminalium elegantissimis iconibus ad Materiam accommodatis illustrata (1554) and the Enchiridion Rerum Criminalium (1554), by Joos de Damhouder (1507-1581), and the Praxis criminis persequendi, elegantibus aliquot figuris illustrata (1541), by Jean de Milles de Souvigny (1490?-1563), they use in abundance the use of images (woodcuts) to portray ways of driving and dealing with the accused. Isolated these features A. concludes that the new moral and legal imagery of Justice that the introduction of the inquisitive system gives place in Europe during the s. XVI is equipped with a disturbing plastic. This work, then, projects from the perspective of the visual culture of Law an innovative approach for the study of legal problems and their better understanding.

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Published

2022-01-19

How to Cite

Calvo González, J. (2022). Imago iuris in the allegorie van justitia met doodzonden visual culture of law: the pictura of the european inquisitve system during the 16th century. Revista Jurídica De Investigación E Innovación Educativa (REJIE Nueva Época), (26), 15–28. https://doi.org/10.24310/rejie.vi26.14127

Issue

Section

In memoriam José Calvo González