Drawing is at the center of Alfred Kubin's artistic work, because this technique allows his imaginative compositions and iconographic inventions, which are influenced by symbolism, to be implemented directly and quickly. The reference to literature is of particular importance for Kubin: on the one hand, Kubin had a classic double talent as a visual artist and as a writer. Second, his affinity for literature meant that Kubin was a prolific and sought-after illustrator. This drawing is also linked to a literary work, the moral satire “The Ship of Fools” by Sebastian Brant, first published in 1494. The book enjoyed lasting success into the modern age, being translated into many languages and making the term "Ship of Fools" proverbial. The Ship of Fools is a symbolic image of a society that, often against its better knowledge or blind to all warning signs, endangers its own existence through its foolish behavior on all levels of human coexistence - a topos that has not lost the slightest bit of relevance.
