The Execution of King Charles I (Title page: Engelandts Memoriael)
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
Sheet: 7 5/16 × 5 5/8 in. (18.5 × 14.3 cm)
Classification
Prints
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Gift of Joseph Verner Reed, 1950
Accession Number
50.576.136
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
About this artwork
This etching documents one of the most consequential political events in British history—the execution of King Charles I on January 30, 1649, following his trial for high treason. Published by Joost Hartgers (also known as Joost Hartogers), a prominent Amsterdam publisher and printmaker, this work served as the title page for "Engelandts Memoriael" (England's Memorial), a commemorative publication that brought news of this shocking regicide to Dutch and European audiences. The 17th century witne...
Art Historical Context
This etching by Amsterdam publisher and printmaker Joost Hartgers served as the title page for *Engelandts Memoriael* (England’s Memorial), a 1649 Dutch publication that brought news of King Charles I’s execution to European audiences. Created just months after the event on January 30, 1649, the print captures the dramatic scene of the king’s beheading outside the Banqueting House in London, surrounded by soldiers and a crowd of onlookers. As an etching, it was well suited for rapid production and wide circulation in an era when illustrated pamphlets were transforming how people learned about current events. The execution of Charles I marked a radical turning point in British and European history—the first time a reigning monarch was tried and put to death by his own subjects for high treason. In the Dutch Republic, where press freedoms allowed publishers like Hartgers to thrive, such images satisfied intense public curiosity while also shaping political opinions about the English Civil War. This modest sheet, measuring just over seven by five inches, functioned simultaneously as news report, political commentary, and collectible souvenir. Today, the print offers a vivid window into seventeenth-century media culture and the shockwaves the regicide sent across royal courts. Its presence in the Metropolitan Museum’s collection highlights how works on paper preserved the emotional weight of history for generations beyond the elite.
About the Artist
Joost Hartgerts|Charles I, King of England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (Dutch|British) · 1640 |1600 –1650 |1649
Dutch, active 1649|British, Dunfermline, Scotland 1600–1649 London