Frau, am Bett eines Kindes sitzend, dieses in ihren Armen in den Schlaf wiegend 1855

Philipp Rumpf made this drawing of a woman lulling her child to sleep in 1853, using graphite on paper. The softness of graphite lends itself perfectly to the subject: the gentle scene of a mother and child. You can see the artist’s hand clearly in the varied, delicate strokes. The textures are built up through layers of hatching, creating subtle tonal shifts that capture the tranquil atmosphere of the room. The material itself – humble graphite – speaks to the everyday nature of the subject. Unlike a grand oil painting, this drawing feels immediate and intimate. The paper support further emphasizes this sense of domesticity. This was not about an aesthetic experience, but about an emotional one; the quietude of a mother's love in a private moment. The drawing serves as a reminder that profound beauty can be found in the simplest of materials and subjects, blurring the lines between the high-status world of art and the more modest, everyday world of craft.