Vorbereitung zum Kostümball c. 1879 - 1880

Otto Scholderer created this pencil drawing, called "Vorbereitung zum Kostümball" in German, which translates as "Preparation for the Costume Ball." It shows a group of women, probably from the German upper middle class, busily preparing for an evening event; their fine dresses and hats, and the dress-up box at the front, hint at the frivolity of the occasion. Perhaps this sketch was made in the 1860s, around the time Scholderer became friendly with artists like Gustave Courbet, whose Realist style is reflected in the image's informal composition and everyday subject matter. The composition is arranged to give us the impression of candidly observing women engaged in preparations in a private space. Costume balls would have been important social events, closely tied to the leisure activities of the bourgeois class, but also to the consolidation of political elites during the period of nation-building that led to the creation of the German Empire in 1871. Art historians like myself seek to understand the complex historical significance of artworks such as this. Resources such as letters, diaries, newspapers, and institutional records can help us reflect on the social conditions and political functions of art.