Frau mit Näharbeit unter einem Baum sitzend 

Philipp Rumpf made this pencil drawing, 'Woman Sitting Under a Tree Sewing', sometime in the mid-19th century. It presents an intimate scene of domesticity: a woman, head bowed in concentration, diligently sews, while a child sits quietly beside her. The drawing's simplicity belies the complex social and economic forces at play in Germany at the time. The Industrial Revolution was transforming traditional roles, and women, especially those from the working classes, found themselves increasingly confined to the domestic sphere. The very act of sewing speaks to this reality. This piece evokes both the peace of a rural escape and the confines of domestic expectations. Understanding such an artwork requires a dive into the social history of 19th-century Germany. Archival records, literary sources, and studies of the period’s material culture can all shed light on the meanings embedded in this seemingly simple drawing. It is in this wider context that the artwork finds its full significance.