Punishment in traditional societies is an emotional response intertwined with violence, and its public display stirs the sentiments of the community. Performed publicly by the state in the main squares of cities in the past, brutal and corporal punishments were presented as a live theatre until the early 19th century. The public execution of corporal punishments was, in fact, a dramatic display of the legitimate use of violence on the body of the offender. However, theatrical punishment, as a form of entertainment and grand spectacle, was used to generate an aesthetic perception in the audience. The present article attempts to explain punishment in light of two concepts: aesthetics and the aesthetics of ugliness, by examining Victor Hugo’s The Last Day of a Condemned Man. To do so, it will employ close reading and qualitative content analysis. The findings suggest that power, through the dramatic execution of punishment, creates an artwork through the criminal's body. Despite the moral ugliness of violent punishments, their display has aesthetic qualities for audiences. Moreover, the ritualistic performance of punishment creates a collective aesthetic experience, fostering social solidarity and empathy. Aesthetic perception is linked to culture. Thus, with cultural progress in contemporary societies, individuals no longer derive pleasure from observing punishment. Rather, they experience disgust and hatred towards the violence of punishment. Consequently, the execution of punishment in modern societies has been moved behind the closed doors of prisons.