Dronkaard op een kruiwagen voortgeduwd door een groep mannen op straat - Isaac Weissenbruch

A nineteenth-century Dutch wood engraving depicting a scene of public intoxication, accompanied by moralising verse from the Prenten-Magazijn.

This wood engraving by Isaac Weissenbruch originates from the Dutch publication Prenten-Magazijn voor het Nederlandsche Volk. The image depicts a scene of public humiliation, where a group of men pushes a wheelbarrow containing an intoxicated individual through a street. The composition is structured around the central figure in the barrow, surrounded by onlookers and participants in top hats and period attire. The scene is framed by trees and architectural elements, rendered with clear, descriptive lines typical of mid-nineteenth-century Dutch illustrative printmaking.

Below the illustration, the text references Proverbs 23:34-35, providing a moralising context for the visual narrative. The accompanying verse laments the degradation caused by alcohol, framing the scene as a cautionary tale for the reader. Weissenbruch, a member of a prominent family of Dutch artists, utilised this medium to reach a broad audience, combining visual storytelling with didactic text. The work reflects the social concerns of the era, particularly the temperance movements that sought to address the perceived moral and physical decline associated with public drunkenness.

Technically, the print demonstrates the precise line work required for wood engraving, a process that allowed for mass reproduction in periodicals. The shading is achieved through parallel hatching, creating a sense of volume and depth within the figures and the surrounding environment. The artist captures the movement of the group and the slumped posture of the intoxicated man, providing a snapshot of nineteenth-century urban life. This print serves as a record of the visual culture of the Netherlands during the mid-1800s, where art and literature often converged to communicate social values to the public.