A distressed young woman protests her innocence and prays before the judge and the counsel of the Spanish inquisition. Aquatint by J.P.M. Jazet, 1839, after S.J.E. Jones.

Under th inquisitorial procedure, the pretrial hearing for bringing a possible indictment is usually under the control of a judge whose responsibilities include the investigation of all aspects of the case, whether favourable or unfavourable to either the prosecution or defense

The pleading young lady is restrained by hooded monks while a priest draws her attention to the cross he holds in his right hand

The Spanish Inquisition was a council to combat heresy, authorized by a papal bull in 1478 and established by King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella in 1480 as responsible to the Crown, not the Church. It used secret procedures and judicial torture, and burning its victims in public ceremonials. With its independence from papal interference, the Inquisition soon became an instrument of the Spanish Crown's build-up of absolute power in the 16th and 17th century. It was finally abolished in 1834

Paris (7 Rue de Lancry) : Jazet et Theodore Vibert, [1839]

1 print : aquatint ; image 37.5 x 45 cm

Le tribunal de l'Inquisition. ... pauvre fille! que son innocence ne pourra sauver des tortures ... Gravè par Jazet. Peint par S.J.E. Jones. Extensive further lettering in French underneath the print

Bibliographie de la France, 23 mars 1839, no. 249 ("Le Tribunal de l'inquisition… gravures aqua-tinta. A Paris, chez Jazet, rue de Lancri, n. 7.")--Image of France database no. 29509

Jean Adhémar, Jacques Lethève, and Françoise Gardey, Inventaire du fonds français après 1800, Bibliothèque nationale, Département des estampes, tome onzième, Paris 1960, p. 302, Jean-Pierre-Marie Jazet no. 203 ("203. Trois pl., chez Jazet et Vibert et chez Bulla et Delarue, 1839 : Le tribunal de l'Inquisition d'apr. J. J. E. Jones; …")

Wellcome Collection 43223i