Law, the Art of Justice

I am keenly interested in both of these subjects;but have never thought of them together. Why;I don't know;since many of the visions we see from the world of justice over the centuries,come from how artists have portrayed the scenes.We take Photography so much for granted today;but let's not forget that this art form was only invented in the 1830's,and didn't really come into common use till during and after The Civil War. So,what other way was there to capture the scene of what happened when some of these important events took place ;than through the eyes,imagination and skill of artists. To anyone interested in history,the events covered in this book will be most familiar.Books are filled with pictures of these events taking place;but what impressed me most about the paintings selected is that most were new to me. As an interesting point,the author has shown where these masterpieces are located today,and and can be seen if one knows about them and has an opportunity and makes the effort. The book covers all aspects of the development and application of Law;from Egyptian times to the present times. Some of my favorites in this book are; "The Death of Socrates " 399 B.C. by Jacques-Louis David "Law Lecturer and His Class" 11th Century from a marble sarocophagus "Joan of Arc at the Coronation of Charles VII" 1429 by Jean Agust Dominique Ingres (1851-1854) " The Lawyer's Office" by Pieter de Blott 1628 "The Napoleonic Code Crowned by Time" by J.B. Mauzaisse 1833 "The Reading of the Will" Early 19th Cent. by Thomas Rowlandson "John Brown Going to His Hanging" by Horace Pippin 1942 And then there's; "Preliminary Trial of a Horse Thief: Scene in a Western Justice's Court" by John Mulvaney 1877 This book is a real Gem for anyone with an interest in Law or Art;but particularly if the combination intrigues you.

Law and Justice. Two words that are not necessarily synonymous with each other. In this book, the author, Morris Cohen shows the reader how law and justice has been depicted through art over the years. From Egyptian times through to the Civil Rights era in the United States, Cohen strives to give us a physical image of law, justice and people. He does a pretty good job of it too; the pictures are well chosen, with artists such as William Hogarth and the French caricaturist Honore Daumier gracing the pages of this chunky but elegant book. One of my favourite paintings is by the African American artist Hale Woodruff who painted a scene from the trial of the fifty four enslaved Africans who mutinied and killed the crew on the Spanish schooner Amistad in 1839. The pictures are also accompanied by excellent text about the artist and the law that these images have invoked. Not all the artists are painting the law within their own time scale. Hale Woodruff is one such example, he was born and died in the 20th century. If you are interested in art, and law seen in a different context then this book is worth trying to find. It is a real shame that it is out of print at this moment (April 2000) in time.