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Historical Scenes of Suffering and Mercy

Engravings depict various historical moments of human emotion, mercy, and tragedy, featuring characters in somber settings, rich in detail and dramatic lighting.

Accused of witchcraft and subjected to torture, women often feel no pain - which of course proves that they are indeed witches, protected by the Devil...

Lesueur in Carthusian, painting by Mr. Laugee. engraving 1855

An old fortune-teller is visiting a couple and their newborn baby, whose birth she had predicted. Etching by F.A. Milius after S. Freudenberger, 1860/1890.

'THE LAST PRAYER' BY TASSAERT, IN THE FRENCH EXHIBITION

Visit the prisoners; The works of mercy. A man brings a prisoner. The prisoner is sitting on a stone in a dark space and is fastened with a chain. The visitor comes with a lantern and extends his hand to greet the prisoner.

The 1906 caption reads DEATH OF IVAN THE TERRIBLE.This hideous tyrant in one of his rages slew his eldest and favorite son. Remorse for the deed weighed on him, he became subject to fainting spells, and finally expired in one of these. He had just interrupted a game of chess to berate his only surviving son, a half imbecile; and it may have been the mingled rage and despair at this incapable heir which overpowered the monarch. His son, protected able woman to whom he had been wedded, stares helplessly at his dying parent. Ivan IV Vasilyevich, commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible,

A young couple visit a fortune teller to have their future predicted. Engraving by Charles Rolls after Alfred Johannot.

Print, First Communion; France; wood engraving on paper; 5 × 5.7 cm (1 15/16 × 2 1/4 in.); 1945-200-474

The Hague, Wtenbrouck, Moyses van, Birth of Christ, verso middle - stamped, Mary and Joseph in the stable with the ox and the donkey next to the manger with the Christ child., print, prints, verso lower left - stamped, height 193 mm, width 135 mm, Northern Netherlands, 1600 - 1647, print maker, printmaker, 1615 - 1615, paper, woodcut

Accused of witchcraft and subjected to torture, women often feel no pain - which of course proves that they are indeed witches, protected by the Devil...

A woman washes the feet of another woman in a church. Engraving.

Non between a prior and a young monk, monogrammist HCF, after Pieter Aertsen, 1550 - 1600 print A prior and a young monk sit at a set table in front of a fire. There is a young nun in front of the prior, who is rejected by him. Behind her back the nun caresses the face of the young monk. The fireplace is decorated with a medallion on which Mary with the Christ child. Behind the company is a representation of Moses that hits water from the rock for the Israelites. Rear right are spinning nuns. Amsterdam paper engraving monks and nuns. spinning (manufacture of yarn). hidden love. laid table: table-ware, table-decoration, etc.. Moses striking water from the rock (Exodus 17:1-7; Numbers 20:2-13)

Illustration showing a destitute woman begging for herself and her baby. From Christopher Christian Sturm 'Reflections for Every Day of the Year' 1813.

Ancient Egyptian funerary workers prepare a body for mummification. The worker on the right, the embalmer, is beginning to wrap the artificially dehydrated body in linen and the man on the left is de

A messenger brings news of the fighting man from the Holy Land, First Crusade, Historical, digital reproduction of an original 19th century artwork

Master! 500 revolted serfs ask Justice ... yet brings me a deputation. (registered title) | Moscow morals (IFF 3) (set of all)

Shakespeare Hamlet Act 3 Sc 4. Ghost of Hamlet's father appearing to him to remind him that he must take vengeance on his mother and uncle for their treachery. 19th century engraving.

John Dee and Edward Kelley attend to the wounded Guy Fawkes, and give him an elixir which revives him. Etching by G. Cruikshank.

Sunday in the backwoods of Canada

Cloistered nuns. Gospel reading. 19th-century colored engraving.

THE GROTTO OF THE NATIVITY, BETHLEHEM

The dolphin neat at the temple. (TF)

The prince enters the spellbound castle where everyone, humans and animals alike, have fallen asleep though to judge by the webs, spiders are not affected.

A STRASBOURG BEGGAR, FRANCE. STRASBOURG is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin d_partement.

painting by Paul Delaroche: la Vierge chez les Saintes Femmes, the Virgin at the Holy Women, Robert Jefferson Bingham, Goupil & Cie, 1858.

Street singers, Egypt in XIX century. Africa. Old 19th century engraved illustration, El Mundo Ilustrado 1881

DRINKING FOUNTAIN TO BE ERECTED AT ISLINGTON

Jesus Christ at Mary and Martha's

Supported by pope Sixtus IV, the PAZZI family conspire against the MEDICI at Firenze - Giuliano di Medici, brother of Lorenzo, is murdered in the Chiesa del Riparata

OTTOMAN EMPIRE. TURKEY. Interior of a cafeteria where courtiers gathered to smoke the chibouk. Topkapi Palace. Engraving of the nineteenth century.

Lourdes, Haute Pyrénées, France: the ceremony of immersion. Pencil drawing by R. Cleaver.

4th-century saint, Nicholas of Myra. Under cover of darkness, Saint Nicholas throws three purses of gold through the window of the house of an impoverished nobleman who was faced with the prospect of selling

Cloistered nuns. Gospel reading. 19th-century colored engraving.

Illustration depicting a Shetland domestic interior showing a primitive oil lamp. Dated 19th century

Interior of a Norwegian home, vintage engraving. Interior of a Norwegian home, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1857. Copyright: xZoonar.com/PatrickxGuenettex 10673758

Two women in prayer before an open shrine. Engraving by W. Holl and F. Holl after J. Browne.

Cultural condition in the 17th century, childbed room, Germany, Historic, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, exact original date unknown, Europe

Israelites' supper, supper, group, sit, priest, table, stool, dine, outside, oil lamp, baskets, speak, Bible, Old Testament, Book of Deuteronomy, chapter, verse

Spiritual reading at Kaarslicht, Willem Frederik Wehmeyer, After Charles Rochussen, 1842 - 1873 print A spiritual sits at a table with books, possibly in a sacristy. A candle burns on the table. Behind him a representation of the Lamb of God on the wall and on the right is a bid chair. On the left is a young nun. Behind the door is a man. print maker: Amsterdam (possibly)publisher: Haarlem paper etching / engraving parts of church interior: sacristy. kneeling-chair. regular clerics, e.g. Jesuits, Redemptorists. nun(s). candle. reading. book - MM - book open

The nuns' piety is gluttony and lust. Satirical copperplate engraving of convent life in the 17th century, digitally restored reproduction of an original from the 19th century, exact original date unknown

A messenger brings news of the fighting man from the Holy Land, First Crusade, Historical, digital reproduction of an original 19th century artwork

A woman entering a nunnery as a novice and saying goodbye to her family. Engraving by C. Rolls after T. Uwins.

A woman helps to adjust a dress worn by the curate as the barber examines his reflection in a mirror with a beard, in a room furnished with a set of antlers over the door. Engraving by William Hogarth.

MONASTIC LIFE IN ENGLAND

Fleet marriages. which took place in or around the London Fleet Prison. were irregular or clandestine marriages that took place in England before the Marriage Act 1753 came into force on 25 March 1754. Digital reproduction of a historical original.

The Adoration of the Shepherds at the Nativity, after a painting by Jacob Jordaens, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a historical work of art

Atala receiving her last communion from the missionary Père Aubry, while her dog and Chactas are crouching at the end of her camp in a mountain cave. Stipple print with etching by Fortier and J.P. Simon after Jean Baptiste Mallet.

Biblical Story, Communion, Historical Steel Engraving from 1860

Japanische Familie zum Gebet versammelt, beten, Religion, Hausaltar, 1870, Japan, Illustration, Historisch, Reproduktion von einer Vorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert. Authentisch, Datei restauriert für optimale Verwendung, genaues Datum der Vorlage unbekannt 1f-4999849

Serving sake at a Japanese dinner, Tokyo, Japan. Old 19th century engraved illustration Travel to Japan by Aime Humbert from El Mundo en La Mano 1879

Alfred is scolded for letting the cakes burn in the house of the cowherd. Alfred the Great, King of the West Saxons circa 848 - 899. After a print originally featured in Robert Bowyer's Historic Ga

United Kingdom. LondonPorters at Work. Dock. Engrving by Gustave Dore, 19th. London: A Pilgrimage.

Imprisoned in solitary confinement in the Conciergerie, Paris. Date: circa October 1793

Traditional blessing of food, Ensisheim, Alsace, France. Drawing by Charles Barbant (1844 - 1921) Through Alsace and Lorraine, 1884 By Charles Grad (1842 - 1890) Le Tour du Monde 1886

The Village choir practice. Date: 1871

Dore, Paul Gustave (1832-1883). Isaac blessing Jacob. Engraving.

Christ Reproaching Peter, from The History and Life of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by Reverend J. Milner published 1808 Engraved by William Hopwood

Ch'in Emperor Shih Huang-ti burns books which oppose his views. Date: circa 210 BC

Cochinchina emperor and his ministers in traditional costumes. Vietnam. Indochina. Old 19th century engraving from Le Tour du Monde 1860

Japanese family gathered for prayer, praying, religion, house altar, 1870, Japan, historical, digitally enhanced reproduction of an original from the 19th century.

Ceremony of the reading of the canon in the holy mass of the Catholic Church. Old XIX century engraving illustration. Old 1852 Epithalamion. Collection of exercises prayers and trades

Saint Ursula, Sainte-Ursule, martyred in the 4th century. Roman-British Christian saint who was beheaded along with thousands of other virgin martyrs in Cologne, 383. Kneeling in front of cross and scourge cat-o-nine-tails. Copperplate stipple engraving from Mr. M. Es Les Jeunes Martyres de la Foi Chretienne, Young Martyrs of the Christian Faith, Francois Janet, Paris, 1819.

It is not enough, beggar woman with daughter counts her money in front of the butcher's store and finds out that it is too little to shop / Es reicht nicht, Bettlerin mit Tochter zählt vor dem Metzgerladen ihr Geld und stellt fest es ist zu wenig zum Einkaufen, Historisch, historical, digital improved reproduction of an original from the 19th century / digitale Reproduktion einer Originalvorlage aus dem 19. Jahrhundert.

The Great Famine of Ireland (1845-1853)

Interior of an Abyssinian church at Chaffa, near Senafe, 1868. 'The church at the village of Chaffa, which is situated...two miles from the British camp at Senafe, may be taken as the type of an Abyssinian parish church of the humbler order. It is surrounded by a stone wall, with a door on the north side, leading into a roomy chamber, the roof of which is supported on timber pillars. Two raised platforms, intended as bed-places...form the furniture of what is intended as a resting-place for travellers...The church is oblong, built of sandstone and mud, with three projecting courses of slate.

The Spanish Inquisition - Torture Techniques Jean Paul Laurens (1838-1921 French)

A fortune-teller is reading the palm of a woman with little girl on her lap. Engraving by J.K. Sherwin after J. Reynolds, 1786.

Friar Laurence: Till holy church incorporate two as one” - Act II, Scene VI, Romeo and Juliet. Artist: Edwin Austin Abbey, American, 1852-1911, M.A. (HON.) 1897

Ruth and Naomi Leaving Moab. Ruth book. Old Testament, Old 19th century engraved illustration from History of the Bible 1883

NEW YORK VEILS, 1870

Presentation of the Cross of the Order of the Holy Spirit, vintage engraved illustration. Magasin Pittoresque 1842.

The early 1900s caption reads: "Gudrun rose and came towards Brynhild." In Norse mythology, Gudrun was the wife of the great hero Sigurd. n the Scandinavian Volsunga Saga, and the Icelandic Poetic (or Younger) Edda and Prose (or Elder) Edda. The hero Sigurd came to King Giukis court after braving the wall of flames surrounding the warrior-maiden Brynhild, with whom he fell in love. In the course of an argument between Gudrun and Brynhild, Brynhild realized she had been wedded to Gunnar by deception, and in her rage sought Sigurds death.

The first born baby by F. Goodall, 1862

SHROVE TUESDAY, 1870

Engraving after William Hogarth (1697 - 1764) from his series, "Hudibras", a poem by Samuel Bulter (16131680), satirising the Cromwellians and Presbyterian Church. Plate VI: "Hudibras and Ralpho in the Stocks".

Copper engraving by Coenraet Waumans from 1640-1667 depicting the acceptance of the cross, showing religious figures, the cross, and symbolic Christian elements.

Illustration depicting the Cow Cross mission's night refuge Smithfield: men taking a compulsory shower before going to the dormitory. Dated 19th Century

'DINAH'S PRAYER,' BY J. BOSTOCK, IN THE EXHIBITION OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY

Chinese market in Dupont Street, San Francisco. Date: 1880

Cartoon commenting on the opening of the first cabmen's shelter in St John's Wood. They became a familiar sight in London. Dated 19th century

This illusttration dates to the early 1900s and shows Judith before Holofernes. The story behind Judith and Holofernes comes from the Bible - the deuterocanonical book of Judith. The Bible tells us that the King of Nineveh, Nebuchadnezzar, sent his general, Holofernes, to subdue his enemies, the Jews. Judith, whose name means"lady Jew"or"Jewish woman", was a strikingly beautiful widow. She overhears plans for surrender and decides to"deliver the city". She creeps into the Assyrian camp, seduces Holofernes with her captivating beauty (as seen here), waits until he is thoroughly drunk, and c

Meal to Emmaus; Les Pelerins d'Emmaüs. Christ is at the table with the two disciples. He breaks the bread and expresses the blessing and at that time the two men recognize him. Left the served brings a plate with food.

Cuirassiers of the Tsar kissing the hand of Alexander II's body, displayed in St Peter and Paul Cathedral in St Petersburg, March 19, 1881. Russia, 19th century.

PRISON LIFE IN SIBERIA

The Blessed Virgin Mary learning to read, from the painting by Jan Van Eyck: Engraving from Lives of the Saints by the Reverend Sabin Baring-Gould, published 1898

Biblical History, Mary, Helper of Christians, Historical Steel Engraving from 1860

Louis the Pious (778-840). King of Aquitaine and of the Franks. Engraving by Ecosse. Universal Library, Popular Edition, 1851. Colored.

Church of Our Lady of Pilar Zaragoza, vintage engraved illustration. Le Tour du Monde, Travel Journal, (1872).

THE ABYSSINIAN EXPEDITION

PRINCESS ELIZABETH Death of the second daughter of Charles I, at Carisbrooke Castle on 8 September 1650 Date: 1635 - 1650

The Death of St. Francis. Alphonse Legros (French, 1837-1911). Etching;

Medieval period. The new born child with midwives. 15th century. French Engraving. Maternity scene.

MUERTE DEL BEATO FRAY DIEGO JOSE DE CADIZ - GRABADO SIGLO XIX. Location: BIBLIOTECA NACIONAL-COLECCION. MADRID. SPAIN.

An engraving depicting visitors inspecting the gas meter at Westminster Gas Works. Dated 19th century

Process of coining in 16th century. From The National and Domestic History of England by William Aubrey published London circa 1890

Testing the new wine in the monastery, monks in Reichenau Monastery, Germany, Historical, digitally restored reproduction of a 19th century original, Europe

THE CURATE OF GLEVERING

Woman waiting for a man on her way to church in Saeterdalen, Norway, wood engraving, c 1880, Europe

Opium den in the Chinese quarter of San Francisco c1870 Wood engraving

Socrates says goodbye to his friends in prison, Christian Bernhard Rode, 1780 print paper letterpress printing / etching death of Socrates: in prison, surrounded by his grieving disciples, he calmly drinks the cup of poison after having made a libation to the gods

Umbria Perugia San Giacomo di Spoleto S. Giacomo6. Hutzel, Max 1960-1990 One exterior view and many negatives of this thirteenth-century church. Interior views focus on the apse and side chapel frescoes. In the apse: St. Mary Magdalen, St. Apollonia, St. James and two of his miracles, the Coronation of the Virgin. In the Cappella S. Sebastiano: St. Sebastian, St. Roch and Pope Gregory (1528 frescoes by Lo Spagna). To the right of the apse: the Madonna, Angels, Saints Peter, Anthony Abbot, and Bartholomew. Also views of altar paintings, reliquaries, gilt crucifix, and two wooden candle holders/statues of boys (17th century). Object Notes: Hutzel made two photo campaigns of this church, first on February 7, 1982 and then on January 31, 1983. There are only 50 different views for the 82 prints. Thus it seems that most of the photographs come from the same campaign though Hutzel made two separate worksheets. The photos have been renumbered. German-born photographer and scholar Max Hutzel (

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