Dame und Herr mit Kind auf einem Sofa, daneben Tisch mit Glas und Fruchtschale 

Wilhelm Trübner’s sketch shows a bourgeois family on a sofa, a scene of domesticity, and at the same time, alienation. The woman, with her arm around the man, appears to seek a connection, but the man looks away, his face obscured by his hand in a gesture reminiscent of melancholia. This pose echoes countless depictions of grief and introspection, from ancient sculptures to Renaissance paintings. Think, for instance, of figures in classical depictions of mourning or biblical scenes of lamentation. The intimate setting only heightens the sense of emotional distance. The composition suggests not a harmonious unity but a psychological chasm. The obscured face invites us to consider what unspoken anxieties lurk beneath the surface of bourgeois life. It’s a glimpse into the silent dramas of the human psyche. The gesture of covering the face, a primal response to distress, persists across epochs. It demonstrates our shared, subconscious language of sorrow and introspection.