Untitled (Criminal Justice; A Satire) c. 1937

Victor Szucs made this drawing, "Criminal Justice; A Satire," with an unknown medium, date and location. The imagery, with its dramatic, critical gaze towards the system of criminal justice, speaks volumes about the artist's social concerns. The drawing creates meaning by using visual codes that indict institutions of power. The upper section of the image shows figures on top of classical columns. One is wearing a graduation cap, but also holding a theatrical mask over his face. Next to him, a woman holds scales, as if judging. A policeman roughs up prisoners below. Szucs' work seems to question social structures of his time, likely in Europe, given his Hungarian origins, or possibly in North America where he also lived. To understand Szucs’s critique better, one might research his personal history and consider his political influences and any institutional affiliations that might have shaped his artistic vision. Art such as this is a product of specific social and institutional contexts.