The French merchant Jean Calas of Toulouse was falsely accused of murdering Marc Antoine, his 30-year-old son, in 1761. Calas (Calvinist) allegedly killed his son because he wanted to convert to Catholicism. In March 1762, Calas was put to death. His family, whom Voltaire took care of, is in prison here. In the center is Calas himself. A man is removing him from the shackles in order to lead him to the scaffold. To his left are his second son and two daughters. At the door on the far left, two militants are letting in a clergyman. On the far right, Calas' wife, who has fainted, sits in a chair. Lawyer Gaubert Lavaysse and the maid are trying to bring her back to consciousness. On the sheet below the scene there is a text in Dutch in two columns. Voltaire wrote his Trait, print maker: Christian Friedrich Fritzsch, (mentioned on object), anonymous, publisher: G. Bom, (mentioned on object), Amsterdam, 1769, paper, etching, letterpress printing, h 240 mm × w 295 mm, h 530 mm × w 365 mm