Friedrich Wenner und seine Frau Christine c. 1811

Christian Xeller created this line drawing of Friedrich Wenner and his wife Christine, sometime in the 1800s. The picture presents us with a curious tableau of gender and class expectations. We see a well-to-do couple, the man reclining casually, cane in hand, embodying a posture of leisure and authority. His wife sits upright beside him. While appearing to be in a similar state of repose, her posture suggests a need to fulfill the expectations of a respectable lady. The details of their clothing offer clues to their social standing, but also to the strictures of gendered presentation at the time. I am left wondering how Christine felt in this moment. This image isn't just a portrait of two individuals, it reflects the broader social dynamics and constraints that shaped their lives and identities.