A Jewish Family Accused of Handling Stolen Religious Artefacts and Tortured by the Inquisition

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Neoclassicism was coming to an end in the Southern Netherlands, while Romantic painting was on the rise. The Romantic painters resisted the coolness of the reasoned neoclassicism. The classical canons have a restrictive effect on the external forms and lead to a so-called ideal, but chilly and lifeless beauty. In Romanticism, this is replaced by an expressive beauty that is full of life and emotion. The drawing becomes more expressive, the colours more striking and the light-dark contrasts greater. The creation of a Belgian state in 1830 meant the definitive breakthrough of Belgian romantic painting. The feelings of triumph for the newly acquired independence could not be better expressed than in a romantic form language. The declaration of independence also increased the interest in the national past. Especially the sixteenth century attracts a great deal of interest. Gallait is also inspired by this period in many paintings. For example, in the works The Abdication of Charles V (1838-1841) and Final Tributes to the Earls Egmont and Horn (1851). A Jewish family accused of fencing religious objects depicts a summons to appear before the Inquisition, a kind of court of the Roman Catholic Church charged with tracking down, questioning and punishing heretics. For this scene, Gallait undoubtedly found his inspiration in the sixteenth century. After all, a great deal of resistance to religious persecution was growing in Flanders at the time. A Jewish family, consisting of an old man, two women and two children, is brought to the tribunal where they will hear the verdict of the inquisitor. In the foreground are the stolen religious objects. The sunlight falls on the figures through an opening in the roof. It illuminates and accentuates the expressions on the faces. The old man hangs his head in discouragement. The mother keeps her eyes closed to shut out the terrible event while she holds her child protectively. Behind her, the second child looks up in horror and fear at the heavy-handed soldier. But the greatest attention goes to the woman in the middle. In vain she begs the Inquisitor for mercy. In vain she begs the Inquisitor, who has indifferently turned his head away, for mercy. The light, which illuminates the entire figure of the woman, further heightens the drama of her plea.