Stehende am Stuhl aus der _Vorbereitung zum Kostümball_, Halbfigur c. 1879 - 1880

Curator: We’re looking at Otto Scholderer's sketch "Stehende am Stuhl aus der _Vorbereitung zum Kostümball_, Halbfigur," created around 1879-1880. It’s currently held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by its intimacy. It's a candid moment captured with such delicate, almost hesitant lines. The unfinished quality amplifies a sense of vulnerability. Curator: The historical context is key here. This piece emerged during a period when Realism was gaining momentum. Scholderer’s work often captured everyday life and people around him. These studies offered a private glimpse into their world. Editor: Absolutely, and you can feel that push toward capturing real life, even within the frame of costumery. But how does this image speak to notions of identity, particularly if this is a figure preparing for a costume ball? What kind of identity is being constructed here? Is she performing her role as an upper-class woman, or subverting it somehow? Curator: That's a fascinating point. The costume ball can be seen as a site of performative identity, of social and class statements. What’s intriguing is that we only see her from the back, not engaged in the performance but only during the process of 'becoming'. Editor: The angle feels like she’s in a liminal space, preparing for a transformation. Perhaps there's an element of gender performance in preparing for a costumed event. Does her costume mask, reinforce, or perhaps even challenge, societal expectations for women? Curator: The material certainly reinforces the preparatory nature of the work. The graphite, chalk, and pencil create a range of tones that show both contour and mass. The details feel secondary to the overall form. Editor: Right, we don’t get details like facial features or ornate fabrics. She becomes almost allegorical; the essence of anticipation. I see her more as a representation of an abstract state of mind, less so about the material details. Curator: Yes, and by reducing her to just the raw material of a drawing, Scholderer invites us to engage more conceptually with this liminal state. He’s less concerned with social history and the elite implications of the costume ball itself. Editor: Ultimately, this seemingly simple sketch resonates so powerfully precisely because of those questions it raises about identity and the roles we perform within our lives, both then and now. Curator: I agree. Looking beyond the technical details or even historical specifics allows us to see Scholderer’s subject beyond her historical placement.