Jongens spelen het spel Kruip door sluip door Possibly 1652 - 1654

Harmen ter Borch created this ink drawing, "Boys playing the game Crawl through, sneak through," on April 22, 1652. The scene pulses with the energy of youthful play, captured through Ter Borch's dynamic arrangement of figures. Notice how the artist uses line and shadow to suggest movement. Ter Borch isn’t just showing us a game; he's exploring structure through form. The composition presents us with a chain of boys, their bodies forming an arch, a tunnel, and a kind of barrier. The lines of their bodies create implied pathways, and the use of shadow and light models depth. Ter Borch uses the game’s structure to frame a larger picture about social hierarchy and the dynamics of power within a community. He renders the scene with an eye for the geometry inherent in human interactions, an interplay of dominance and submission. Consider how the form of the artwork—its lines and the way the boys are arranged—is integral to understanding its cultural significance. This piece allows us to see how a simple children's game becomes a site for the expression of social dynamics.