Sämann, Heilige Margarethe (Kachelentwürfe) 

Curator: This drawing on display here is titled "Sämann, Heilige Margarethe (Kachelentwürfe)", featuring sketches by Hans Thoma, composed using pencil and ink. Editor: My first impression is one of stark simplicity. The sparse lines create a sort of haunting emptiness despite the figurative elements. Curator: The two studies, each framed within rectangles, seem to depict distinct narratives. The upper scene presents a sower set against a landscape, while the lower one illustrates a woman next to a flame—likely Saint Margaret, given the artwork's title. These sketches were potential designs for tiles, reflecting a turn-of-the-century interest in decorative arts that incorporated spiritual and allegorical motifs. Editor: Yes, focusing on the Saint Margaret composition, the flame is an intriguing focal point. Notice how Thoma uses line weight to differentiate the flame, providing dynamism versus the steadiness of Margaret herself. Also, Thoma employs very linear folds in Margaret's dress, providing volume, however in an elementary manner. Curator: This composition could tap into the veneration of saints, using it to negotiate issues of faith, national identity and morality in an age of immense social change. Also note, in the upper frame of the drawing, the farmers, the landscape – all these motifs serve as a celebration of labor, agriculture, and what one could say, the "simple life," values dear to the emerging nationalistic sentiments of the time. Thoma, like many artists then, tried to negotiate modernization with traditional German values. Editor: I see what you mean, it's all definitely presented very rigidly. Thoma is not playing around with shading, or even dynamic curves – we get very clear lines throughout. It almost looks instructional. Curator: Exactly! Which serves Thoma, and German society at the time - he’s presenting and defining, as opposed to making ambiguous artistic expressions. It is hard not to appreciate the craft that would then turn these drawings into decorative household elements. Editor: On my side, observing Thoma's deliberate choice to forego more expressive renderings, gives this a very distinct tone. Thanks for providing the extra historical dimension!