Interior of a Room, 1864, pencil, Gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx, 1976.538

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy. I am the Associate Director of Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description for Interior of a Room, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

Created in pencil, Interior of a Room is from 1864. It was a gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx. The accession number is 1976.538

The drawing, Interior of a Room, measures 8 and 1/8 inches by 10 and 9/16 inches. It is landscape-oriented. Drawn on a beige-colored piece of paper, this work captures a kitchen space dating from 1864. Moving from left to right in the image, the viewer first encounters a closed door with raised panels. Next, we come upon a two-tiered cabinet with doors. The bottom portion of the cabinet is slightly larger than the unit on top of it. The lower cabinet’s door is closed. Resting beneath it are several shoes. The upper cabinet’s door is open, and we see pantry items. Moving to the right, we come across a kitchen chair with a cloth draped over the back. Above the chair, on the wall, hangs a small frame. A rod hangs above the frame with additional pieces of fabric or clothing draped over it. To the immediate right of the chair is a small log stove, with a bowl and two kettles placed on top. Above the stove, a hat hangs from a nail on the wall. Finally, to the right of the stove, there is another kitchen chair and what appears to be a small bucket. High above them, A clock hangs on the wall.

Label Text

Hello, my name is Eric Le Roy. I am the Associate Director of Docent Learning at the museum. I will be reading the label for Interior of a Room, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

Created in pencil, Interior of a Room is from 1864. It was a gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx. The accession number is 1976.538

Humble domestic interiors fascinated Mosler. He lovingly rendered quiet corners with all their nooks and crannies, well-used furniture, and worn paneling. Photographs of his studios and the sale of his effects reveal heavily carved cabinets and other pieces that sometimes appear in his work. The careful drawing and oil sketch seen here exemplify the types of studies he used for paintings like Breton Interior Scene (Bagpipe Lesson) and Morning, although these paintings came later. You may find these unpopulated studies more evocative than his paintings with villagers in them. They conjure meditations on the passage of time and love.

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