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Secondary sourcePaintingc. 1891

The Execution of the Inca

A. B. Greene · c. 1891

An 1891 engraving dramatizing the execution of Atahualpa, showing him bound and surrounded by Spanish soldiers and a friar.

A later dramatized depiction of Atahualpa's execution by the Spanish, central to his historical story.

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Black and white engraving of a scene in a walled plaza at dusk with smoke and torches. A bound man is tied to a stake while a robed friar holds a crucifix before him. Armed, helmeted Spanish soldiers with pikes and swords surround the scene, and bundles of kindling lie on the ground in the foreground. A mounted rider stands at upper right.
A. B. Greene, The Execution of the Inca, c. 1891.

About this source

What it is

This engraving, created around 1891 by A. B. Greene, depicts the death of Atahualpa, the Inca ruler. It shows a bound man tied to a stake in a walled plaza, with a robed friar holding a crucifix nearby and armed Spanish soldiers surrounding the scene.

Why it matters

Made centuries after the event, this dramatic scene reflects how later artists imagined and retold the story of Atahualpa's death at the hands of the Spanish conquerors. It shows the clash between the Inca Empire and Spanish forces, and the involvement of religious figures in the conquest.

Look closer

  • What details, like the soldiers' weapons or the friar's crucifix, tell you about who held power in this scene?
  • Why might an artist in 1891 choose to depict this moment from centuries earlier?
  • What emotions does the composition, such as the lighting and smoke, try to create in the viewer?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Atahualpa on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Black-and-white ink line drawing with a bold Spanish caption across the top reading Conquista and Atahualpa, Ciudad de Caxamarca. A robed friar with a cross faces a kneeling Inca man, while a crowd of Spanish soldiers with spears and Andean figures fills the scene.Painting

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Pen-and-ink drawing titled 'Conquista', showing Spanish soldiers in armor and helmets with a seated Inca ruler being executed. A bearded, feathered Spanish figure stands at left; a figure with a cross and sword stands center; a headless body lies on the ground below, with a severed head held at right. Caption text at the bottom is in Spanish.Painting

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