Die Blutprobe (The Test of Blood), from Die Siebenhardenbeliebung series
Hans Grohs
German, 1892–1981

Details
Title
Die Blutprobe (The Test of Blood), from Die Siebenhardenbeliebung series
Artist/Maker
Hans Grohs (German, 1892–1981)
Date
1922
Medium
Woodcut print
Dimensions
Contact the museum for more information
Credit
Gift of Nelson Brackin
Accession #
2005.332.2
Location
Currently not on view
The Test of Blood Based on the common belief that the body of a victim would spontaneously bleed in the presence of its murderer, the test of blood was used in German law until the middle of the eighteenth century as a method to prove guilt. Grohs illustrates this principle of law as a narrative moment. On a rocky beach with the sea and ships in the distance, four figures enact the crucial test. The corpse’s ungainly position is a measure of the violence perpetrated, while the accused murderer’s rigid bodily resistance already confirms his guilt.
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