Kermisprent van de Amsterdamse askarrenmannen voor het jaar 1843 1843

This is an anonymous print from 1843, created in Amsterdam, for the city's ash carters. The composition is divided into distinct visual zones. Above, we see a scene of men collecting ash in a street, rendered with fine lines and detailed architectural backgrounds. Below, a dense block of text dominates, its tight arrangement of letterforms creating a stark contrast with the pictorial section above. The formal arrangement creates a tension between visual storytelling and textual declaration. The scene above, with its depiction of labour and urban life, appears almost like a stage set, its depth suggested through linear perspective. In contrast, the text anchors the image to a specific cultural and economic context. The text serves less as a description and more as a cultural inscription, highlighting social values. Ultimately, the artist uses this interplay between image and text to challenge fixed notions of representation, inviting the viewer to consider how meaning is produced through both visual and linguistic structures.