One of the key figures in the Romantic movement, Philipp Otto Runge developed a highly idiosyncratic pictorial language to convey his vision of harmonious unity among humanity, nature, and the divine. In 1802, he began developing ideas for a cycle of images in which flowers, children, and light would symbolize the Times of Day. In this preparatory study for Morning, executed in Runge’s reduced, highly linear style, the infant gazes upward, hands parted in wonder and feet pressed together as if in prayer. Helpless yet awake and alert, the child both witnesses and embodies the beginning of a new day.
Philipp Otto Runge, The Child, 1809. Pen and black ink over black chalk, 5 13/16 x 8 1/16 inches (147 x 205 mm). Thaw Collection, 2017.230.