How Do These Come to Brotherhood?

This Dutch etching mocks the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity through three caricatured heads representing different social classes. The figures display exaggerated facial features and dress—a ragged peasant, a rotund figure in a Phrygian cap holding a banner, and a wealthy nobleman with elaborate curled hair—positioned as if equal under democratic principles. The satirist questions the feasibility of genuine brotherhood across class divisions during the Dutch Patriot period. The print exemplifies the Northern European caricature tradition descending from Hogarth: using physiognomy and costume as weapons of political commentary. Such broadsides fueled public debate through visual wit rather than reasoned argument, establishing visual satire as a tool for both celebrating and undermining revolutionary change.