"The Court of Cambyses" - a picture that was painted 500 years ago, but horrifies the servants of Themis today

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Painting by the Dutch artist David Gerard "Court of Cambyses", which reflected the peeling of the skin from a corrupt judge, belongs to the genre of edifying images, very popular in the Middle Ages in Western European painting. This work was intended for the courtroom in order to serve as a reminder to the servants of Themis of their duty and oath.

The plot of the canvas is from the depths of antiquity. "History" of Herodotus

The plot of this work is based on the story described by Herodotus in his treatise, which reads briefly:

And this event, described by the ancient Greek historian, happened in 530 - 522 BC in Persia during the reign of the ruler from the Achaemenid dynasty - Cambyses II.

But the artist David Gerard, who lived in the 15th century, did not set himself the goal of reflecting that distant era reliably in that distant time. He simply took an ancient plot and transferred it to the modern world. Namely, in 1498, as the inscription on the wall says. And he painted the characters from his contemporaries in clothes corresponding to the time of the Middle Ages. And in the background, in the openings, you can see the shopping arcades of Bruges - medieval buildings that have survived to our time.

The events depicted by the artist take place in two time slices. Therefore, the artist used the form of a painting that was popular at that time - a diptych. Both parts of which were a consistent description of the plot, which depicts the Persian ruler Cambyses and numerous witnesses to the arrest and execution of a negligent judge. The painter masterfully solved the compositional problem and consistently "told" this story in colors. It took him four whole years to do this.

The image, written on two wooden boards in tempera, is quite large-scale. So, the left half is 182 x 159 centimeters, and the right half is 202 x 178 centimeters.

In the background, in the upper left corner, the author depicted a porch, where a man is seen holding out a purse of money to the judge - this is the beginning of the story.

Below to the center we see the scene of the arrest of Judge Sisamn, who was convicted of a bribe. The ruler Cambyses himself lists the bribe-taker on his fingers the cases when he used his official position and judged unlawfully. Behind our back we see a guard, firmly holding the "ruler of the law" by the hand, and the judge's son, who will become the successor to his position in the near future.

On the right, the diptych directly depicts the terrible execution, where we see how the executioners began to remove the skin from the living judge. And witnesses gathered around, led by Cambyses, in order to make sure that the execution would be carried out properly. Therefore, it is scary to even imagine what torments the convict was experiencing at that moment.

And finally, in the upper right corner in the aisle of the galleries, in a judge's chair covered with human skin, sits Otan, the offspring of Sisamn. On the left above the entrance to the courthouse hang the coats of arms of Flanders and Bruges, as a reminder to the new judge of his oath to serve the residents of the city with faith and truth.

This cautionary story about a corrupt judge, as a reminder of judicial honor, was relevant in the XV-XVI centuries, in Western European states, when a single judicial, financial and police system did not exist. Almost every city had its own system of law, reflecting its historical and national characteristics, as well as traditions. This story is still relevant today.

A little from the history of the monstrous execution

The cruel execution, which consists in stripping the skin from the condemned with the help of knives, takes its origins from time immemorial. It was often resorted to by the ancient Babylonians, Chaldeans and Persians. Ancient Hindus burned their skin with torches, after which a person died for 2-3 days.

This type of execution was widespread in Assyria, one of the rulers of which covered the columns of his palace with human skin. There was a case in ancient history when, after cruel torture, the Persians ripped off their skin alive from the captive emperor Valerian and, having painted it red, hung it up in the temple as a trophy. And also the history of mankind knows cases when the skin was ripped off from unfaithful wives who cheated on their husbands.

And as irrefutable facts show, the most sophisticated "masters" in this matter were the Persians. They skillfully cut the skin of the unfortunate victims with narrow straps and circles, rags and plates. The height of the executioners' professionalism was their ability to cut the skin with thin ribbons, starting from the neck, and then in a circle in circular strips from five to ten centimeters wide.

Over time, such an inhuman form of execution lost its relevance, and by the 14-15th century, they resorted to it quite rarely. Although history remembers one episode when the British executed in such a manner the archer Pierre Basil, who wounded Richard the Lionheart with a shot from a crossbow, after which he died suddenly. Enraged Warriors

In the 16th century, this execution was adopted by the Turkish general Mustafa, who in 1571 defended the besieged Cypriot city of Famagusta, whose inhabitants did not surrender for more than 10 months. By his order, all the military leaders were executed by stripping the skin, among whom was the famous Venetian Bragadino, the leader of the resistance.

Execution by skin stripping for criminal offenses ceased several centuries ago, but oddly enough, human skin is still highly valued by collectors of gloomy collections to this day.

Methods of Combating Judicial Corruption in Our Time

Nowadays, during trials in courtrooms, a reproduction of the painting "The Court of Cambyses" has often appeared. Politicians and ordinary citizens, trying to threaten the corrupt servants of Themis, use this picture as a reminder of the consequences of the trial of Cambyses.

By the way, the diptych "The Court of Cambyses" is currently in Belgium in the museum of the city of Bruges.

In the Middle Ages, terrifying gravestones - transi that look like decomposed corpses.