Here father Garnet is shown strong and dominant.  Perhaps a realistic view given his
important political role as the head Jesuit in England. He was a man of considerable power
over the lives of his flock and could have been instrumental in stopping the plot in its early phases. Instead Garnet differed to the judgment of the pope in this important matter of public safety.  The crowd changes in its reaction right to left and into the background from revulsion to jeering to wonder.

The executioner  is shown as a symbol of a leering justice. Garnet in his last moments is clearly shown
in command-the light from above giving him a saintly appearance. Garnet was in-fact
quite weak as he went to his death after many weeks of torture. The crowd however
was quite sympathetic. Here again we find the artist attempting to cast justice in a bad
light.
About The Image:
Father Garnet on the Scaffold- C. Screta
In:Tanner, Mathias, 1630-1692.
Societas Jesu usque ad sanguinis et vitae profusionem ...
(Prague: Typis Universitatis Carolo-Ferdinandeae per Joannem Nicolaum Hampel factorem, 1675)

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