Engraving of a beheading in a colonnaded hall, with an executioner, armed guards, and robed onlookers around a fallen figure, with Latin verses below.

Beheading of the Roman Judge Papinian, from Thrones of Justice

An engraving showing a muscular executioner in the foreground, seen from behind, raising a sword over a fallen figure on the floor of a colonnaded hall. Armed guards and robed onlookers stand around, with a rounded arch and a painted scene in the background. Latin verses appear in two columns below.

Artist: Willem van Swanenburgh
Date: 1606
Medium: Engraving on ivory laid paper
Source: Art Institute of Chicago
Size: 1686 × 1296 px

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Public domain · Art Institute of Chicago releases this image under CC0 (latest date 1606).
Rights checked 2026-11-05 · tier A · as stated by the source: CC0 (Art Institute of Chicago, is_public_domain=true)

Credit (appreciated, not required for public-domain works): Art Institute of Chicago, Charles Hack and the Hearn Family Trust Collection, purchased with funds provided by the Harry B. and Bessie K. Braude Memorial, Amanda S. Johnson and Marion J. Livingston, anonymous, and Suzanne Searle Dixon endowment funds

Rome and Ancient Greece Virtues and Allegories 17th century baroque 1600s 1606 engraving print ink on paper colonnade willem van swanenburgh thrones of justice roman history executioner beheading

Beheading of the Roman Judge Papinian, from Thrones of Justice

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