Study for The Women and the Secret, 1876, pencil with black crayon, Gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx, 1976.589

Verbal Description

Hello, my name is John Hedges. I am a Gallery Attendant at the museum. I will be reading the verbal description of Study for The Women and the Secret, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

Study for The Women and the Secret from 1876 is in pencil with black crayon. It was a gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx. The accession number is 1976.589

Mosler’s Study for The Women and the Secret measures 24 and 3/16 inches by 18 and 1/4 inches. The portrait-oriented picture is populated by three figures, two women in the foreground and one man peeking over what appears to be a wall in the upper right. The two central figures, one facing the viewer, the other in profile, are standing outside, in front of a building. The woman at the left is possibly the younger of the two. She facesthe viewer and wears a long dress with a rounded collar, short sleeves, and an apron. Her hair is pulled back in a low bun, and she is wearing a cap with a bow at the front. Her arms stretch down in front of her, and she clasps her hands. She is looking at the other woman and appears to be listening. The second central figure is dressed in a long-sleeved day dress with a coat. Her hair is also pulled back, and she wears a structured hat with a veil cascading to her shoulders. Held in the crook of her left arm is a basket full of foodstuffs. She is leaning into the other woman, her finger to her lips as if telling a secret.

Label Text

Hello, my name is John Hedges. I am a Gallery Attendant at the museum. I will be reading the label for Study for The Women and the Secret, which appears in Henry Mosler Behind the Scenes: In Celebration of the Jewish Cincinnati Bicentennial.

Study for The Women and the Secret from 1876 is in pencil with black crayon. It was a gift of Henry M. Marx in memory of Agnes Mosler Marx. The accession number is 1976.589

Mosler made this large sketch in Munich for a painting he exhibited at the 1879 Paris Salon. The subject comes from a fable by La Fontaine that inspired a comic opera and a one-act play. Like the fable, Molser exploits derogatory stereotypes of women’s behavior but also ridicules the enthusiasm of men for the gossip women circulate.

Although this drawing appears very complete, Mosler took a fresh approach to the oil painting, which he submitted to his Munich instructor for critique. In the sketch, the woman on the left seems demure and passive, but not so in the oil. He dressed up her outfit, comically exaggerated her expression, and moved her hands to her hips. Mosler also eliminated the eavesdropping man, focusing attention on the central action.

The Women and the Secret, circa 1877, oil on canvas, Private Collection

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