Das Kind c. 1930

Karl Wiener painted "Das Kind," or "The Child," in Germany. We don’t know exactly when, but we can see his expressionist style. The artwork shows a child standing in a corner. It immediately provokes questions about the child’s life, their history, and circumstances. Wiener's painting invites us to consider the social conditions that shape artistic production. The child is stuck in a corner which creates a feeling of being trapped, perhaps reflecting the limited opportunities available to children in the artist’s time and place. What was their socio-economic background? What was it like to be a child in Germany at this time? What kinds of educational and social systems were in place? These questions can be answered with archival documents, historical research, and sociological studies. "Das Kind" is a poignant reminder of the role of art in commenting on social structures. As historians, we use art to reveal the hopes, fears, and realities of past societies.