The thief, the Cross, and the wheel
Subtitle: pain and the spectacle of punishment in medieval and Renaissance Europe
By: Mitchell B. Merback.
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Published: 1999
Place of publication: Chicago
Language: eng
Number of pages: 351
Subjects: Jesus Christ -- Crucifixion -- Art; Violence in art; Torture in art; Executions and executioners in art; Art, Medieval; Art, Renaissance
Description: "Christ's Crucifixion is one of the most recognized images in Western visual culture, and it has come to stand as a universal symbol of both suffering and salvation. But often overlooked in this symbolic language is the fact that ultimately the Crucifixion is a scene of capital punishment. In The Thief, the Cross and the Wheel, Mitchell Merback reconstructs the religious, legal, and historical context of the Crucifixion and of other images of public torture.

The result is an account of a time when criminal justice and religion were entirely interrelated and punishment was a visual spectacle devoured by a popular audience."--BOOK JACKET.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 339-343) and index.