Justitia (Rechtvaardigheid) 1687 - 1713

This print, Justitia, was made by Paul Decker around 1700. The allegory of Justice is here represented as a beautiful woman seated on clouds, holding aloft a pair of scales. This symbol, central to our understanding of justice, has its roots in ancient Egypt, where the weighing of the heart ceremony determined one’s fate in the afterlife. The scales, though, resonate far beyond judicial contexts. Consider, for instance, the scales' presence in depictions of the Archangel Michael, weighing souls on Judgment Day. It speaks to a universal human concern with balance, fairness, and moral accounting. Yet, the image is not static. Over time, the scales have evolved, sometimes appearing alongside a sword—a symbol of power and enforcement—or with a blindfold, representing impartiality. These attributes, added and subtracted through the ages, reveal a dynamic, ever-shifting understanding of justice, reflecting our collective anxieties and aspirations. It is in this non-linear, cyclical progression that the symbol of Justitia has resurfaced, evolved, and taken on new meanings in different historical contexts.