Lambert Melisz. vlucht met zijn moeder in een slee over het ijs, 1574 1740 - 1742

Simon Fokke created this print, Lambert Melisz. Flight with his Mother in a Sleigh over the Ice, in 1748, and it presents a stark, linear world rendered in etching. The eye is immediately drawn to the stark contrast between the hatched sky and the smooth ice, setting a scene of precarious movement. Fokke’s masterful use of line emphasizes the harshness of the escape. The composition subtly divides the world into zones of safety and danger. The buildings and the distant city represent stability, while the foreground—dominated by the cracked ice—suggests risk. The starkness of the composition underscores the emotional weight of the narrative. Fokke’s work functions as a cultural document, reflecting the values and fears of his time. The linear precision, almost diagrammatic, invites us to consider not just the story but also the underlying structures of survival and desperation represented in simple strokes.