Gezicht op het Willige Rasphuis te Amsterdam 1760 - 1783

Simon Fokke created this print of the Willige Rasphuis in Amsterdam, sometime in the 18th century. The Rasphuis was a men’s prison, part of a larger network of carceral institutions designed to reform what the Dutch perceived as moral failings through forced labor. Looking closer, we can see men working outside the prison, watched over by guards. This was a place where the social order was violently imposed. The Rasphuis was intended to instill discipline, targeting those who deviated from the norms of Dutch society: the poor, the unemployed, petty criminals, and often, those deemed socially undesirable. Fokke’s print offers a strangely serene view of a place of punishment. The leafy trees and orderly arrangement of figures create a sense of calm that belies the harsh realities within. The print invites us to consider the complexities of justice and social control. It asks us to reflect on the human cost of these systems, and how those costs are often obscured by a facade of order and civility.