Sitting girl, reading 

Victor Müller made this sketch of a sitting girl reading, in Germany, probably sometime in the mid-19th century. Though it's just a preliminary sketch, it suggests some of the major shifts in the social role of women that were underway at that time. The emphasis on reading suggests the growing importance of female education. Thinkers of the Enlightenment had begun to advocate for women's education, though often with the caveat that educated women would be better mothers, and more pleasing companions to men. By the nineteenth century, educational opportunities for women were expanding, though still limited by class and social expectations. This image may reflect those changing times. To better understand the sketch, we might consider not only the artist's biography, but also the history of education in Germany and the changing social roles of women in the 19th century. It would be useful to look through old newspapers, census records, and school archives. Only then can we begin to understand the artwork as a product of its time, revealing something of the complex relationship between art and society.