Koets vast in de sneeuw 1843

Edward Duncan created this aquatint titled "Coach Stuck in the Snow." Painted during the height of the Industrial Revolution, the image depicts the vulnerability of man-made systems when confronted by the power of nature. The scene might remind us of the precarity of life in the face of forces beyond our control. The painting presents a tableau of social hierarchy through the figures’ relationships to the bogged-down carriage. The supposed beneficiaries of the coach—the presumably wealthy passengers inside—are dependent on the labor of the working-class men and animals struggling in the snow. We see a moment of collective struggle across class lines; an image of people facing adversity. We might reflect on what binds us together across these differences, especially during moments of crisis.