Vervolging van protestanten in Frankrijk, 1685 1685 - 1732

Philip van Gunst made this engraving, "Persecution of Protestants in France, 1685," in the Netherlands, at an unknown date. The image illustrates the brutal repression of the Protestant Huguenots in France following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. We see terrified people being attacked by soldiers. The clergy and Catholic Church loom large in the background. The work creates meaning through a well-established visual code that would have been very familiar to its 17th-century audience. As the print was made in the Netherlands, it clearly takes a Protestant viewpoint. It is a piece of propaganda, designed to elicit sympathy for those persecuted, and anger towards Louis XIV’s regime. Historians looking into these events can consult sources on both sides to interpret the artwork in the context of its time. What can this print tell us about the role of imagery in the religious conflicts of early modern Europe?