The Hangman's Tree
Date1633
Mediumetching on paper
DimensionsPlate: 3 3/4 × 7 5/16 inches (9.5 × 18.6 cm)
Portfolio/SeriesPlate 11, "The Hangman's Tree," from the "Les Grandes Misères de la Guerre [The Miseries of War]" series
Credit LineGift of Mrs. Julianna F. Waring.
Object number1972.23.20.2
CopyrightThe images and text contained on this page are owned by Telfair Museums or used by the Museum with permission from the owners. Unauthorized reproduction, transmission or display of these materials is prohibited with the exception of items deemed “fair use” as defined by U.S. and international copyright laws.Label TextCallot was one of the most important printmakers of the 17th century, appreciated for his fine Mannerist style and his exceptional technical skills. He is best remembered for his powerful Miseries and Misfortunes of War series, an unstinting portrayal of the brutality of war for both the militia and the ordinary citizenry. In Callot’s series of eighteen prints, soldiers fight, rape, and pillage, and are alternately wounded, punished, or rewarded. In plates like The Strappado, the artist depicts an imminent display of public torture, as soldiers lead a victim in from the right. Strappado was a form of torture in which a person was lifted off the ground by a rope tied to their wrists, then allowed to drop until their fall was checked by a jerk to the rope. In The Hangman’s Tree, Callot depicts a mass public hanging, with soldiers gathered beneath the bodies. The Firing Squad of Arquebusiers portrays soldiers engaging the arquebus, a primitive firearm used between the 15th and 17th centuries.
Callot’s etchings focus less on skirmishes between large numbers of soldiers on a battlefield, and more on the various atrocities, such as torture and execution, that often attend warfare. The public crowds gathered for each of these events suggests the bloodthirsty nature of society.
