Dreyder (The Flight of Tax Collector P. Ryers)

This etching satirizes the flight of a wine-tax collector, a figure of public resentment. A demonic coachman drives a cart shaped like a gigantic fish or sea creature while scattering coins—likely bribes or stolen funds. On the left, three women gesture in alarm or mockery. In the background, a church and village suggest the rural communities whose taxes funded such officials' enrichment. The print belongs to a Dutch tradition of political satire targeting corrupt bureaucrats and their abuse of common people. Like Hogarth's moral narratives and the caricature broadsides that would follow, it uses grotesque exaggeration and theatrical composition to mock authority and invite public ridicule. The fantastic vehicle—half-beast, half-machine—embodies the creature-like venality of institutional corruption.