Exhausted Strength – Works – Sammlung Online

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The image depicts a dimly lit scene in a room. On the left side, there is a person lying on the floor, appearing flat and possibly in a sleeping or unconscious position. On the right side, a child is seen sleeping in a bed or a cot. The room is sparsely illuminated, and a table with an object on it is visible in the background. There are also some fabrics and possibly clothing in the room.

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Oberes Belvedere
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Exhausted Strength
Die tote Mutter
Date1854

Artist Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller (1793 Wien – 1865 Hinterbrühl)

ULAN

Object typePainting
MediumOil on canvas
Dimensions
63 × 75 cm
SignatureSign. und dat. unten links: Waldmüller 1854
Inventory number3656
Location Upper Belvedere
Only a candle illuminates the room, casting light on an infant sleeping peacefully in a crib. On the wooden floor alongside, and easily overlooked, the child’s mother has collapsed in exhaustion. Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller uses this drastic scene to draw attention to the precarious situation faced by women coping alone with daily life and a child in the 19th century. With searing honesty, the artist tells of being stretched to breaking point and of abject poverty. In no other of his works do we encounter such Realism.

Provenance
Exhibitions

1865 Nachlass Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller.
1868 P. Kaeser.
1924 Stavoner, Wien (?).
1931 Auktionshaus Albert Kende, Wien
1939 Ankauf Fritz Wejrowsky, Wien

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