Kopf der Sitzenden aus der _Vorbereitung zum Kostümball_ c. 1879 - 1880

Curator: I find such intimacy in preliminary sketches like this. What catches your eye first? Editor: The downward gaze—there's a pensive, almost melancholic quality. It invites you to project your own story onto her. Tell me more. Curator: This is "Head of a Seated Woman," from Otto Scholderer’s, *Preparation for the Costume Ball*, likely drawn around 1879 or 1880. A study in chalk on paper, housed here at the Städel Museum. Editor: "Costume Ball" sounds frivolous. This portrait… doesn't. It's like catching someone lost in thought, before the mask goes on. There's a subtle critique implied, perhaps of the very society these balls represented? Curator: Precisely! Scholderer’s work often engages with social dynamics through character studies. Costume balls were displays of wealth and status, but behind the finery were individuals with their own complexities. Her face hints at both a conformity to and perhaps a questioning of those norms. Editor: The shading is quite soft. Almost dreamy. Makes you think of longing. And it is such a small scale but manages to be impactful. I wonder about the models. Curator: Probably a person within his social circle. What is particularly telling is her half-dressed status, and that simple garment. Editor: It all serves to amplify that sense of vulnerability. Interesting how art made in service to frivolity reveals truth about social pretense and interior life. Curator: That's the intriguing dichotomy, isn't it? The tension between external performance and inner reflection. That push and pull makes her gaze seem especially poignant. It transcends time. Editor: A little gem unearthed before the party. So glad to be a witness to her state. Curator: Thank you for appreciating Otto's sketch with me!