Fotoreproductie van De grote der aarde door Antoine Wiertz before 1868

This is a photographic reproduction by Edmond Fierlants of Antoine Wiertz’s painting *The Great Ones of the Earth*. Fierlants created this photograph in Belgium at a time when photography was changing how we look at and think about art. Wiertz’s painting depicts figures of power – emperors and generals – reduced to naked corpses being thrown into the gaping jaws of the personified figure of death. As an artist, Wiertz was fascinated by grand, philosophical, and even moralizing themes. He felt strongly about humanity's place in the world and in the face of death. Fierlants, through his photographic reproduction, democratizes Wiertz’s original artwork, rendering it accessible to a broader audience. Photography allowed for the mass dissemination of images, challenging traditional notions of artistic originality and authorship, and allowing people to reflect on their own mortality and the futility of earthly power.