'Schrecklike Mordtat des Georg Strange am Gründonnerstag' ("Horrible Murder by George Strange on Maundy Thursday", 1653).
Johann Schubert was an early 17th-century German wood engraver and printmaker. In 1653, he made an engraving based on a real-life murder case, titled 'Schrecklike Mordtat des Georg Strange am Gründonnerstag' ("Horrible Murder by George Strange on Maundy Thursday", 1653). Together with Hans Burgkmair the Elder, Lucas Cranach the Elder, Jeremias Gath, Hans Holbein the Elder, Hans Holbein the Younger, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Georg Kress, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Erhard Schön, Hans Schultes the Elder, Lukas Schultes and Elias Wellhöfer, Johann Schubert is one of the earliest German prototypical comic artists who left us with a signature.
Life and work
Little is known about Johann Schubert, other than he is believed to have flourished between 1622 and 1649 in the German parts of the Holy Roman Empire, in present-day Germany. Schubert made several woodcuts based on recent events, forerunners of today's newspapers. In the 16th, 17th and 18th century these so-called 'Geschichtsblätter' ("Pages about Events") were very popular. They portrayed battles, massacres, public executions, natural disasters and other atrocities. Visualizations of festive city visits by royals and noblemen, royal marriages and state funerals were equally popular. Schubert was just one of several artists who made such drawings. Other creators included Johannes van den Aveele, Jeremias Gath, Frans Hogenberg, Romeyn de Hooghe, Bartholomäus Käppeler, Caspar Krebs, Georg Kress, Hans Rogel the Elder, Hans Rogel the Younger, Der Prager Meister von 1609, Erhard Schön, Hans Schultes the Elder, Lukas Schultes and Elias Wellhöfer
Like most art from that era, the historical accuracy of these graphic "news reports" should be taken with a grain of salt. No eyewitnesses were consulted and all information was based on descriptions from messengers, travelers or hearsay. Unavoidably, anecdotes were sensationalized and used for propaganda purposes. The printers couldn't print opinions that could get them in trouble with the authorities. Audiences wanted to be awed as well. As a result, huge public festivities were made more bombastic, and scenes of death and despair were heavily dramatized. The prints were distributed all over Europe. Once the events became old news, the drawings were bundled and compiled into collectable picture albums.
Horrible Murder by George Strange
In 'Schrecklike Mordtat des Georg Strange am Gründonnerstag' ("Horrible Murder by George Strange on Maundy Thursday", 1653), a family murder is visualized. The crime took place on Maundy Thursday (a Christian holiday celebrated between 19 March and 22 April). In order to understand the images, the reader has to start with the fifth panel and continue with the rest of the second panel row. After finishing the eighth panel, one should continue reading at the first panel, and then continue with the first strip of panels. A man named George Strange murdered his wife and children with an axe. He got rid of the evidence by chopping the remains in pieces. Eventually the killer was arrested, tried and executed with a breaking wheel.