Vierentwintig karikaturen van mannen en vrouwen die de krant lezen 1801

This is "Four and Twenty Caricatures of Men and Women Reading the Newspaper" by F. Sansom, a drawing held at the Rijksmuseum. The artwork presents a neatly organised grid of caricatures. Each figure is rendered with exaggerated features, their heads disproportionately large, almost grotesque, set upon diminutive bodies, and arranged symmetrically across the paper. Sansom uses line and colour to amplify the comedic effect. The figures are drawn with thin, precise lines, their outlines crisp against the pale background, and the watercolour washes add depth and texture. Sansom's methodical arrangement invites a structuralist reading. By categorising individuals based on their engagement with the newspaper, he implies a deeper social commentary. Is Sansom suggesting that identity is constructed through the consumption of information? The regularity of the grid, the identical newspapers held by each figure, implies a system of meaning. But the absurd disproportions of each character disrupts this very system and challenges the notion of fixed meaning. It transforms the act of reading into a spectacle.