down on the judge's seat above which his father's skin hangs as a canopy. Rubens clearly follows the iconographic tradition of the story but gave it a Baroque touch. King Cambyses is shown in a dynamic pose holding his scepter and with his hand on his sword, clearly admonishing the new judge who bows his head in submission. At the feet of the king is a dog barking at Otanes. On the right of the king are a number of soldiers and bearded old men, possibly the king's counselors, whose presence further bolsters the authority of the just king. On the left a man, a woman and two children witnessing the scene are prostrating themselves in reverence for the king. The Dutch painter Isaac IsaacSZ, who had worked in Antwerp, painted his own Judgment of Cambyses for the Harderwijk city hall (still in situ) which is clearly influenced by Rubens' effort. The Flemish painter Vigor Boucquet was commissioned to paint a Judgment of Cambyses by the city magistrate of Nieuwpoort as a gift to the city in 1671. Due to its large dimensions, the painting (now kept in the Church of Our Lady in Nieuwpoort) must have made an overwhelming impression in the magistrates' court where it was hung originally. In his composition, Boucquet focuses on the scene where Cambyses shows the young judge to his chair with his sceptre. The chair is draped in his father's skin with the face of the father clearly recognisable. In the background we can see the flaying of the corrupt judge. At the far left of the composition is a statue of the blindfolded Justice with scales and sword, which emphasizes the role of the painting as an exemplum iustitiae. Gallery References External links People executed by flaying People executed by the Achaemenid Empire 6th-century BC executions People from the Achaemenid Empire Year of birth unknown