Joseph (Giuseppe) Wagner created the etching Saint Dominic burning the books of heretics in the 18th century – between 1740 and 1786, according to researchers. The etched image is printed on laid paper, the kind of paper that shows a ribbed pattern when held up to the light. Etching is a technique of making up to a thousand prints from a metal plate. It is impossible to predict the exact number of impressions that can be made from one plate – too much depends on the type of metal, the depth of the scratched and etched lines and other particulars of the piece.

With each print, the metal plate becomes more deformed, so sometimes only a very few copies can be printed. The number of prints produced from this etching is unknown to researchers.

Leonello Spada’s work is an example of Baroque art, noted for its sumptuous shapes, strong contrasts and ostentatious effects. The characters in the picture are caught in a tense dynamic moment, their poses and gesticulation expressive, their bodies anatomically sculpted – even the bodies of angels. Wagner’s etching replicates these features.

St. Dominic was a friar and a preacher, founder of the Dominican Order whose members devoted themselves to scholarship and evangelization. St. Dominic tried to convert people to the Catholic faith with good deeds and kindly words. According to the legend, once during his preaching a fire was built, and heretical books were thrown into it along with a book of St. Dominic’s. St. Dominic’s book leapt out of the fire, unburned. This episode is sometimes referred to as The Miracle of St. Dominic’s Trial by Fire.

In the pictures, St. Dominic is typically dressed in the habit of his Order, a white tunic and scapular, with a black cape and hood worn over them. Often he is holding the Gospels in his hand. Sometimes he is also pictured with a lily, the symbol of chastity. In some images, the friar has a burning star in his forehead to symbolize his saintliness.