The Noodle Eater, 1849

Against a darkened background, a young woman in rural garb is seen in the picture foreground, sitting and eating. The girl’s gaze is not on the handled earthen pot in her left hand, nor on the forkful of noodles in her right, which she blows to cool the food, but goes out into empty space. She seems to be absorbed in thought. Considering the unanswered but self-suggesting question of what the reason for the girl’s thoughtfulness might be, the painter Johann Baptist Reiter (1813–1890) provides a narrative element to go with his work The Noodle Eater. Intertwining everyday activities with little stories was typical for the genre painting of the Biedermeier epoch, particularly so in Vienna where the oil painting was created in 1849.

MK, 2021