Kunstgewerbliche Entwürfe, in vier Feldern_ Symmetrisches Gewächs, Esel mit Rucksack, Musizierender Esel und Bär mit Nasenring 

Moritz von Schwind made this pencil drawing titled 'Craft designs, in four fields' some time in the mid-19th century. It is an interesting example of the artist’s more commercial output. The drawing shows a series of designs for decorative objects or applied arts. In the German-speaking lands, there was a growing interest in linking artistic creativity to the world of manufacturing and trade. This kind of work would have been promoted by institutions such as the Kunstgewerbevereine, or arts and crafts associations. These associations tried to bring artists and craftsmen into closer dialogue. Looking at Von Schwind’s drawing, we can see a tension between traditional art and the rise of manufacturing. On the one hand, we have images that draw on folklore, fairytales, and traditional rural imagery. On the other, we have the industrializing urban world, where those images might be applied to everyday products. Historians can look at sources such as trade publications and exhibition catalogs to understand the changing relationship between art, industry, and the market.