Examination of a Witch, 1853
Tompkins Harrison Matteson (American, 1813-1884)
Oil on canvas, 38 1/2 x 54 inches
Peabody Essex Museum, museum purchase, 1978
Photo by Mark Sexton and Jeffrey R. Dykes
PEM Collection
Tompkins Harrison Matteson’s painting has long been associated with the Salem witch trials, however it actually depicts a prior related event in Boston. Matteson sets the dramatic scene in a public tavern, the kind of locale where many of the initial examinations conducted in Salem Village and Salem took place. The details he renders are reminiscent of the 17th-century interiors in Dutch genre paintings. He captures the climactic moment when a female examiner points out a witch’s mark on Mary Fisher’s body.
DETAILS
Single magnet measuring 3.5 x 2.5 inches
Artwork information on back