Studies of costumes

Adolph Menzel recorded these costume studies with the precision that made this him Germany's most respected 19th-century realist. A keen observer, he created thousands of drawings documenting his surroundings. These studies capture clothing details and textures with almost photographic accuracy.

Menzel often worked with local models during his travels, valuing not just costume accuracy but capturing personality and gesture specific to time and place. His background as an engraver in his father's lithography workshop made him an outstanding draftsman. Now at the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg.