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Emil Schwabe, Unresolved Questions [Ungelöste Fragen] (1887)

This painting is by Emil Schwabe (1856-1904), who studied art at the Düsseldorf Academy of Art but made his career mainly in Berlin. The figure in the center of this canvas is likely a liberal journalist or lawyer, perhaps Jewish. He appears to take issue with the arrogant views and dismissive postures of his two interlocutors: on the left, a figure who might be a National Liberal or Conservative landowner; on the right, a priest, professor, or member of the Catholic Center Party. Bismarck looms over all three figures. As to which “questions” were “unresolved,” the painting’s date – 1887 – suggests the men may have been debating Bismarck’s social insurance legislation. But the possibilities, like the answers, are virtually endless.

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Emil Schwabe, <i>Unresolved Questions</i> [<i>Ungelöste Fragen</i>] (1887)

© Bildarchiv Preußischer Kulturbesitz
Original: Düsseldorf, Museum Kunst / Palast mit Sammlung Kunstakademie und Glasmuseum Hentrich