Bedreiging van J. Meulman te Woerden, 1813 1813 - 1814

Willem van Senus created this small drawing, "Bedreiging van J. Meulman te Woerden, 1813", in 1813, now housed in the Rijksmuseum. The linear precision and muted tones initially suggest a scene of quiet contemplation, yet a palpable tension vibrates through the composition. The structure reveals a stark encounter: a soldier, left, brandishing a firearm across a table at a seated man. The composition is divided; the archway behind the men suggests a classical formality, while the objects scattered on the floor introduce a sense of disruption. The artist challenges the viewer with the semiotic weight of the firearm: a signifier of power and impending violence. The artist destabilizes any singular interpretation, inviting us to consider the broader implications of power, resistance, and the fragility of peace.