Verschrikte man 1834

This is Petrus van Schendel’s ‘Verschrikte man’, or ‘Frightened Man,’ a stark drawing rendered in pen. Schendel, who was born in the Netherlands in 1806, witnessed the social and political upheavals following the Napoleonic Wars. The man's wide, bulging eyes and parted lips convey a sense of sudden shock and fear. His neatly styled hair and formal attire, however, suggest a bourgeois identity, possibly a man of some social standing. Schendel captures a raw emotional state that transcends social status. The title, inscribed below the image in Dutch, explicitly directs our interpretation towards fear. The work evokes a strong sense of emotional vulnerability, perhaps reflecting the anxieties and uncertainties of a rapidly changing world. The drawing provides an accessible narrative of fear that might have been particularly resonant during a period of political and social change. 'Verschrikte man' thus, in my opinion, offers a penetrating examination of the human psyche when confronted with the unexpected.