Man jaagt kinderen weg met zweep, vrouw met zak geld en hond staan in de deuropening 1827

This print, held at the Rijksmuseum and created by Auguste Raffet, captures a stark social tableau. The composition is immediately divided into zones of action and reaction. In the foreground, Raffet uses the frenetic energy of line to depict children scattering from a man wielding a whip. The linearity employed here isn't just descriptive; it's structural. The fleeing figures, rendered with rapid, agitated strokes, contrast sharply with the static, almost geometric forms of the figures in the doorway. The woman, clutching a money bag, and the looming doorway itself, are constructed with a precision that underscores their position of power. This contrast isn't merely aesthetic; it embodies a critique of social structures. The linear dynamism of the children versus the rigid geometry of the adults becomes a semiotic device, signifying the unstable, precarious lives of the poor against the fixed, unyielding structures of wealth and authority. In essence, Raffet uses line and form to challenge the status quo, questioning the moral implications of economic disparity.