Wilhelm Busch - A woman pulling a boy by the ear

Wilhelm Busch

A woman pulling a boy by the ear

Oil on panel. 29.5 x 22 cm.

In this small-format oil sketch, Wilhelm Busch captures an everyday scene with quick, skilled brushstrokes: a mother is cutting her stubborn child's hair. The child's resistance is unmistakable – not least because of the mother's firm grip on his ear.

The scissors in the woman’s hand, like the jug in the background, are merely hinted at. But those familiar with Busch’s works will immediately sense that, in the artist’s typical narrative style, the child’s disobedience is likely to be followed by further punishments.

There are several drawings by the artist on this theme (op. cit. R. Bunngraber-Malottke, pp. 164-165, nos. 400, 401, 402, 403)

Certificate

Otto Nöldeke, 16.3.1908 (on the reverse).

Provenance

Otto Nöldeke, Mechtshausen/Harz. - Heinemann Gallery, Munich (label with no. 306, on the reverse). - In third generation, private collection, Germany.

Literature

R. Brunngraber-Malottke: Wilhelm Busch. Handzeichnungen nach der Natur. Werkverzeichnis, Stuttgart 1992, p. 164-165.