Titus Manlius Having His Son Beheaded

Titus Manlius was a fourth century Roman consul who executed his own son when he disobeyed his orders. This brutal scene of an impartial justice reveals Albrecht Dürer’s influence on Heinrich Aldegrever. The careful attention the artist pays to depicting the spirals in the timber of the guillotine shows familiarity with Saint Jerome in His Study. Although Aldegrever borrows motifs from Dürer, he transforms them to create works that are uniquely his own.