Theo Heemskerk as an alchemist trying in vain to distill a report from members of a commission set up to reform the constitution of the Netherlands. Line block after J. Braakensiek, 1912.

The Staatscommissie-Heemskerk was set up in 1910 to advise on reform of the franchise in the Netherlands. The chairman was Theo Heemskerk, the president (prime) minister and minister of home affairs. The commission contained members from a wide range of political parties (liberal, Roman Catholic, antirevolutionary, social democrats, free democrats, old liberals, and the Christelijk-Historische Partij). It issued its report in 1912 but had been unable to reach a conclusion, and no reforms resulted from it; hence the present comparison between the commission and the futile work of over-optimistic alchemists as described in Pieter Bruegel's engraving