The Romans walking off with the Sabine Women 

John Leech created this drawing titled 'The Romans walking off with the Sabine Women' using pen and ink. Its monochrome palette and densely packed figures create a scene of chaotic energy. Lines of varying thickness define the forms, from the muscular Romans to the struggling Sabine women, giving a sense of dynamic movement. The composition is structured around diagonal lines of action, directing our gaze across the crowded space. Leech uses hatching and cross-hatching to build up tonal depth, emphasizing the drama of the abduction. The exaggerated expressions and gestures of the figures lend a theatrical quality to the scene, bordering on caricature. Through this exaggerated style, the drawing subtly destabilizes any heroic reading of the classical narrative, inviting a more critical engagement with themes of power and conquest. The visual chaos of the scene underscores the disruption of established social norms and raises questions about the legitimation of such acts of violence.