Menu Close

SAVOYV6_icon8_horton_pendus

The line-block reproduction of Horton’s pen-and-ink drawing is in portrait orientation bordered by a black line. The image, inked in black, shows the scene of a hanging. On the left side, there are two black rectangular columns between which lies a wooden beam. From the beam, four figures hang by a rope from their necks. The figures are skeletons in silhouettes; their ribs are visible and the left-centre figure is missing the bottom half of their right leg. Four birds hover above the skeletons, and another hovers further back to the right. In the distance at right are six birds flying in pairs. In the bottom right corner of the page inked in black there is the silhouette of a city skyline. In the bottom left corner of the image is the author’s signature: “William T. Horton.” The signature is etched in white on the black background. The illustration faces its companion text, Thomas Wratislaw’s translation of the medieval ballad by François Villon, in which he imagines his own hanging.