DOCUMENT 13.1
Depictions of Anabaptist Martyrs, 1544 and ca. 1536
The Anabaptists told the stories of their martyrs in songs, poems, pamphlets, and pictures. These two scenes of Anabaptist martyrdom sought to capture a single, telling moment. In the first, from 1544, a serene Maria van Beckum awaits her death, while her brother’s wife, Ursula, offers words of encouragement, knowing full well that she will be next to mount the pyre. In the second, dating from about 1536, a caged John of Leyden is suspended above a raucous crowd that revels in his unspeakable suffering. As you examine the engravings, ask yourself why the artists chose to depict these particular moments. What lessons did they hope viewers would take away from these scenes?
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER
What might the artist have been hoping to convey by depicting Maria van Beckum as calm and confident in the moments before her death? In what ways might this scene have served as an allegory of the relationship between martyrs and the Anabaptist community?
How would you explain the artist’s decision to portray John of Leyden at the moment of his greatest suffering? What connections might sympathetic viewers have made between John of Leyden’s experience and that of Christ?