Daniel Maclise

The Spirit of Justice

The Spirit of Justice by Daniel Maclise

Artwork Detail

This is a fully realised, preparatory sketch for Maclise's fresco in the House of Lords, London, and shows the personification of Justice between Mercy and Retribution, with Lay and Ecclesiastical Judges below. On the right a murderer is constrained by his accuser, who grasps the offending weapon, and on the left an armed knight throws down a gauntlet on behalf of the victim's widow and children. In the fore-ground an emancipated slave and a free citizen kneel. The painting represents the humanitarian ideals of the period.

Title
The Spirit of Justice
Artist/creator
Daniel Maclise
Production date
1850
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
2591 x 1524 mm
Credit line
Mackelvie Trust Collection, Auckland Art Gallery Toi o Tāmaki, gift of James Tannock Mackelvie, 1881
Accession no
M1881/1/1
Copyright
No known copyright restrictions
Department
International Art
Display status
Not on display

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