Mensenmassa op een plein vechtend om eten en kleding 1805

Christian Gottfried Heinrich Geissler created this print, titled 'Mensenmassa op een plein vechtend om eten en kleding', which translates to 'Crowd in a square fighting for food and clothing'. Geissler lived through the tumultuous period of the late 18th and early 19th centuries, a time marked by significant social upheaval, wars, and political realignments in Europe. This piece presents us with a stark view of desperation and the struggle for survival, likely capturing the raw emotions and physical realities of poverty and social inequality. The scrum of bodies fighting for resources is viscerally portrayed. How does one make sense of the intense desperation visualized here? Is it a commentary on the breakdown of social order, or a reflection on the basic human instinct to survive? The print doesn't shy away from showing the darker aspects of humanity, the kind of desperation that can lead to conflict and the loss of dignity. What feelings does it evoke in you?