De Notenkraker, 5 mei 1907 / De gebroken ladder Possibly 1907

Albert Hahn made this lithograph titled 'The Broken Ladder' in 1907 for the Dutch satirical magazine, 'De Notenkraker', or 'The Nutcracker.' Imagine the artist, Hahn, hunched over the lithographic stone, carefully etching each line with a greasy crayon. The image would gradually emerge as if from a dream. I'm thinking about the weight of political satire. To have to say something serious with humor; that is a heavy load. Hahn would be thinking about how to expose social inequality in the Netherlands. Look at the ladder – how it is literally broken, and the people who can never reach the top. All those jackets hanging like fruit from the tree, what do they mean? There is also a certain awkwardness to the composition, as if the artist is unsure. It reminds me of Honoré Daumier, another master of satirical lithography. These artists, like Hahn, capture the zeitgeist through images that speak truth to power. It is a conversation that echoes through time.