Faun und Jüngling 1887

Hans Thoma painted this watercolor of a faun and youth sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The work is an exercise in the kind of classical idealism so popular in German-speaking Europe at the time. Thoma gives us an idealized vision of pastoral life that seems far removed from the realities of a rapidly industrializing Germany. This interest in classical subjects and mythological figures was a way for artists to explore themes of beauty, harmony, and the natural world, separate from the social and political problems of their time. But we might ask, to what extent is this kind of art actually a form of social commentary, and to what extent is it an attempt to distract from the pressing issues of the time? Looking more closely into the aesthetic and intellectual history of Germany in this period, consulting sources like exhibition reviews, artist’s letters, and social surveys, can shed light on these questions. Art always speaks in some way to the social moment in which it was created.