Weibliche Aktfiguren in heftiger Bewegung, in ihrer MItte eine weitere, männliche (_) Gestalt 

Victor Müller made this sketch of female nudes in violent motion sometime in the 19th century. His academic training shows in the confident rendering of figures, but what is one to make of their poses, their implied relations? Müller belonged to that generation of German artists that came to maturity after the failed revolution of 1848. The big question facing these artists was whether to serve the state or challenge it. The visual codes deployed here do not give a clear answer. Is this image conservative, in that it reflects an ongoing fascination with mythological violence? Or does it critique institutionalized traditions of painting? We can investigate the question through Müller’s other works and writings, to understand how his personal politics may have shaped the image. To dig deeper we might consider the reception of this image and others like it. Art history reminds us that the meaning of art is always contingent on social context.