A New Year's Greeting 1839

Curator: Adolph Menzel’s "A New Year's Greeting," created in 1839 using pen and ink on paper, is a fascinating example of the artist’s early work. Editor: It's like a whimsical doodle brought to life! The frenetic energy in those lines makes me think of chaotic New Year celebrations. What was Menzel up to? Curator: Menzel, a keen observer of social life in 19th-century Germany, was developing his unique style during this period. It reflects the Biedermeier era's emphasis on intimacy and domesticity, but it’s got Menzel's signature wit, even then. It also reveals the emerging culture surrounding personalized stationery, of the kind often used to circulate images and greetings within social networks, so you’re spot on to characterize it as chaotic: that seems appropriate for this type of circulated media. Editor: Looking closer, I see some rather curious characters. Is that a goblin-like figure peeking out from the corner? What does that signify, alongside these rather formally dressed… well, disembodied coats? Curator: It's tempting to see it as just whimsical play, but the combination of these rather strange images might also offer social commentary. Consider, the marching drummers absent their drummers; or, indeed, that the greeting is presented to the artist's "esteemed mother-in-law." The inclusion of such satirical elements could well question traditional hierarchies and established decorum in pre-March Germany. It does raise a question, I feel: do we know to what social class Adolph belonged at the time, and to which class his in-laws? Editor: A cutting caricature of familial dynamics! I wonder, what was it like to *be* Menzel's mother-in-law? I appreciate, though, the idea of using art to subvert social norms. Today, we have similar approaches—often much more blunt!—to address gender, class, and power in celebratory spaces. Curator: That intersection of celebration and critique resonates today, doesn't it? "A New Year's Greeting" reminds us that even the most festive occasions are often battlegrounds for social negotiation and contestation. Editor: Absolutely. This has definitely reshaped my sense of New Year’s cards! So, in many ways, this sketch is incredibly modern.