Fabel van de Koeyen, de Herder, en de Wolf (Fable of the Cows, the Herder, and the Wolf)

This Dutch etching deploys animal allegory to comment on political conflict. Three horned cattle represent Dutch cities or factions; a herder and wolf embody competing powers. The engraved narrative below unfolds the moral in Dutch verse, a common format for political instruction among literate classes. Part of a rich tradition linking Aesop's fables to contemporary satire, such prints circulated widely in the Dutch Golden Age, reaching merchants and magistrates. The fine linear technique characteristic of etching allowed sharp detail and wide reproduction. These fables prefigured later graphic satire by Gillray and Rowlandson, establishing how animal figures and sequential narrative could encode political allegory for public consumption.