The banquet of the rich man c. 1855

Victor Müller created this sketch, "The Banquet of the Rich Man," at an unknown date. The composition immediately strikes us with its stark division: an upper realm of opulence and a lower depth of despair, unified by a continuous, yet fractured, architectural form. Müller employs line to define two distinct worlds. Above, flowing figures in elaborate attire dance and recline, their forms rendered with a light, almost ethereal touch. Below, the lines are heavier, etching the gaunt faces and emaciated bodies of the impoverished, creating a sense of weight and suffering. The contrast isn’t just thematic; it’s formally constructed through the very materiality of the drawing. This sketch challenges the very idea of a singular perspective, presenting us with a visual allegory of social stratification. The architectural setting, with its steps and platforms, acts as a stage upon which these disparities are enacted, questioning the values that underpin such division. "The Banquet of the Rich Man" invites us to consider how the structure of society itself is drawn, line by line, through choices of representation.