Agent houdt een menigte tegen 1892

Félix Edouard Vallotton created this woodcut, titled ‘Agent houdt een menigte tegen’, which translates to 'Officer Stopping a Crowd', sometime between 1890 and 1900. Vallotton was a Swiss and French painter and printmaker associated with the group Les Nabis, a collective of Post-Impressionist avant-garde artists. This print captures a moment of tension and control, reflecting the social anxieties and class tensions prevalent during the fin de siècle in Europe. The faceless figures in the crowd press against each other, their expressions a mix of curiosity and apprehension. The police officer stands as a stark figure of authority, his arm outstretched to halt the mass, his position of power elevated by his hat and uniform. The composition, with its strong contrast and flattened perspective, emphasizes the dynamic between the individual and the collective, the regulator and the regulated. Vallotton does not shy away from portraying the emotional weight of the time, capturing the raw tension between the crowd and the figure of authority.