Illustration for the Little Cock and the Little Hen 

Artuš Scheiner made this illustration for the Little Cock and the Little Hen using ink on paper. It forms part of a larger visual culture of fairy tales and folklore that flourished across Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Scheiner was a Czech artist, and this work speaks to the project of cultural revival that was prominent in Bohemia at the time. We can see how the image creates meaning through the visual codes of class and status. The peasant woman, the hen, and the Queen, each inhabit different positions within a social hierarchy. The hen's quest for silk highlights the economic and social disparities of the time, reflecting the complex interplay between rural life, aristocratic power, and the emergent forces of industrial capitalism. To understand this image better, we might research Czech folklore, the history of book illustration, and the socio-political context of Bohemia under the Austro-Hungarian Empire. This would allow us to better understand the role of art in shaping cultural identity and social critique.