Two Horses, Drunkenness and Quarrel

This Dutch etching depicts a chaotic street scene where mounted figures clash violently while civic emblems—scales of justice, a coat of arms—lie scattered and overturned. Labels identify the combatants as representing competing factions and foreign interests, with "Geld" (money) raining from above and "Godsoerenst" (God's service) trampled underfoot.

The print belongs to a rich Northern European tradition of political satire using animal metaphors and urban disorder to mock contemporary parties and their corruption. Such broadsheets circulated widely, employing crude, legible caricature to reach a popular audience—a direct ancestor of the narrative violence and symbolic chaos that would animate later comic-strip art. The style influenced German Bilderbogen, English caricature, and eventually cartooning itself.