Junge Dame mit Hut und Blumenkorb, an einem Tisch stehend 

Otto Scholderer created this pencil drawing of a young woman with hat and flower basket sometime during the 19th century. Scholderer lived through a time of significant social change, including the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the middle class, both of which redefined the roles of women in society. This work offers a glimpse into the life of a young woman in the mid-1800s. Her attire and the flowers suggest a certain social status, hinting at a life of leisure. Yet, there's a quiet pensiveness in her eyes, a hint of the complex inner life that might be at odds with societal expectations. The woman’s gaze, averted from our own, makes me wonder about the gazes she encountered in her daily life, and how she navigated the world as a woman in that era. This piece prompts us to consider the expectations placed on women and the nuanced ways they navigated their identities within those constraints.