Illustration # 12 

Maria Bozoky created this illustration with ink and watercolor. It depicts a pianist seemingly merged with his instrument, overlaid on a face in quiet contemplation. This image resonates with the cultural history of music, particularly classical piano, within twentieth-century bourgeois life. The location is likely Hungary; Bozoky was Hungarian. The figure at the piano evokes not just musical performance, but also the social rituals and class associations connected to that activity. Pianos were fixtures of middle-class parlors, symbols of cultural refinement and leisure. The pensive face suggests music's internal experience. We can look at the history of music education, concert halls, and patronage to appreciate the place of classical music in Hungarian society. It is through such cultural and institutional lenses that we can best interpret Bozoky’s illustration.