Works of Art as a Form of Criminal Punishment in the Low Countries (14th–17th C.)

Abstract

From the fourteenth to the sixteenth century, and even in the seventeenth century, it was not uncommon for judicial sentences to require the convicted person to acquire, or finance, a work of art, or to have to provide specific objects. One can distinguish two types of artistic objects: those that were only intended as decorations, and those that bore an explanatory text mentioning the crime and the name of the condemned. The objects that were only used for embellishment are, strictly speaking, works of art. They can be found inside churches or public buildings (often the courtroom) in the form of a painting, a stained-glass window or a statue, but also as ornaments on the facade of a church or a town hall. Objects bearing explanatory notes, such as a description of the crime, the date of conviction and the name of the convicted person, are better referred as ‘shaming penalty pieces’: pieces imposed as punishment intending to shame offenders for their wrongdoing. The purpose of these pieces is not too primarily to decorate the room or facade, but rather to damage the reputation of the convict and serve as examples and warnings to those who read them. In these cases, the aesthetic quality of the work is subordinated to the message. These pieces in the form of metal fists and heads with explaining plaques, paintings and stained-glass windows were often exhibited in or near the courtroom. The theme was usually chosen in accordance with the misdeeds. In matters of high treason or lese-majeste, columns of infamy were sometimes erected as an exceptional measure.