Begrafenis van een dode zalm (Funeral of a Dead Salmon)

This Dutch etching depicts a satirical funeral procession for a salmon, with numbered figures in 18th-century dress accompanying the fish to its grave. Mourners in tricorn hats and coats process solemnly while onlookers gather; a fortified city rises in the distance. The print employs visual absurdity and anthropomorphism—common devices in European print satire—to mock contemporary social conventions, likely targeting specific political or social figures through the transparent disguise of the salmon funeral. The numbered figures suggest a key (now lost) that identified the actual subjects of ridicule. This work exemplifies the tradition of allegorical political caricature stretching from Hogarth through Gillray, using engraved line work to distribute biting social commentary to literate audiences. The detailed costume work and architectural setting anchor the fantastic scenario in recognizable reality, a hallmark of 18th-century satirical printmaking that would later influence comic narrative traditions.