Fotoreproductie van Das gefahrdete Fruhstuck 1870 - 1890

Editor: This is a photographic reproduction of “Das gefährdete Frühstück”, or "The Endangered Breakfast," dating from 1870 to 1890. It looks like a pencil or charcoal drawing depicting a child eating while a rooster and hen stand nearby. I'm struck by the everyday-ness of the scene. It seems so simple, almost quaint. What catches your eye? Curator: The focus on a simple, quotidian scene is very telling of the era's Realist movement. Before the late 19th century, such ordinary subjects weren't considered worthy of high art. So, we have to ask ourselves, what’s at stake in representing this “endangered breakfast?” Is the drawing making a subtle social comment? Editor: Social comment, how so? Curator: Well, consider the context. The late 19th century saw rapid industrialization and urbanization. Pictures of rural life became incredibly popular because they were seen as pure or “authentic”, and were embraced by people worried about modern life and social change. Does this imagery romanticize a way of life that was disappearing, perhaps even ignoring the harsh realities of rural existence? Editor: I see what you mean. It almost feels like the artist is deliberately avoiding any hint of the difficult realities of agricultural life. Curator: Exactly! This kind of seemingly innocent genre painting could actually be deeply implicated in social and political debates of the time. Think about how art institutions displayed these kinds of images, and how audiences may have responded to them in that historical context. Who did these idyllic visions serve? Editor: That’s a totally different way of looking at it than I initially considered! Now I see how the context really shapes how we read this drawing. Curator: Precisely. Art doesn't exist in a vacuum. It's always in conversation with its time.