Spotprent op de schoonmaak op het Ministerie van Koloniën, 1863 1863

This 1863 pen and ink drawing by Johan Michaël Schmidt Crans titled "Spotprent op de schoonmaak op het Ministerie van Koloniën" (Satirical drawing about the cleaning at the Ministry of Colonies) depicts a scene of a man scrubbing the deck of a ship. The drawing, part of a series, is a humorous commentary on the state of the Dutch colonial administration. The exaggerated depiction of the cleaning process on a ship highlights the perceived inefficiency and lack of progress in colonial affairs. The image's title "Schoon schip maken" (Make a clean ship) plays on the Dutch idiom, "Schoon schip maken" meaning "to make a fresh start" and emphasizes the need for reform in the colonial administration.