By the Window

"Painted in 1890–91, By the Window treats women's paid work as a subject in its own right. The Städel Museum interprets it as a response to a changing female role: work could offer freedom beyond the domestic sphere while bringing new constraints. Uhde also moved away from the earlier Romantic tradition of a figure gazing from a window by making everyday labour central to the work. Born in Wolkenburg in 1848, he first served as an army officer before turning fully to painting. After study in Paris and a return to Munich, he developed a naturalistic style with Impressionist elements, a way of painting that used freer brushwork and attention to changing light. In 1892, he helped found the Munich Secession, an artists' association that challenged the official art establishment.