_Suppose your back had got crooked!_ _ Angenommen dein Rücken wäre gekrümmt! 1872

Otto Scholderer rendered this emotive sketch in pencil sometime in the 19th century. It captures a small child seated in a large chair, perhaps contemplating the meaning of life. Scholderer was a German painter, a contemporary of Leibl and Courbet, active during a period of great social change and the rise of Realism in art. While he did not focus solely on working class subjects like his peers, this intimate drawing speaks to the rising social consciousness of the time. It references social and cultural values through a domestic scene, one that would have been instantly recognisable to audiences of the time. The title suggests a theme of empathy, an important concept in the rise of social reform movements. Art historians interpret such images by consulting records of the artist's life, exhibition reviews, and cultural studies of the period. The meaning of art is not fixed; it evolves with our understanding of the past.