Oberkörper von Titania, die Arme nach vorn gestreckt, und von Nick Bottom mit Eselskopf, einen Arm nach vorn gestreckt c. 1867 - 1868

This is Paul Konewka's sketch of Titania and Bottom, now at the Städel Museum. The figures, rendered in delicate pencil lines, emerge from a textured, almost ethereal ground. The composition centers on the stark contrast between Titania's graceful form and Bottom's grotesque donkey head, emphasizing the absurd and dreamlike qualities of Shakespeare's play. Konewka uses line to define shape, but also to suggest movement, particularly in Titania's outstretched arm and flowing drapery. The sketch, though simple in execution, destabilizes conventional notions of beauty and desire. The visual tension between the refined and the monstrous invites us to question fixed categories and explore the transformative power of art. Ultimately, the formal structure of this sketch reflects a larger cultural fascination with the irrational and the subconscious.