Dr. Moeller & Cie Kunsthandel

The tumble of the young girl, who lies face-down on the pavement in the foreground on the left, is only one of the many small everyday catastrophes depicted in the painting. Perhaps she was only attempting to imitate the somersaulting boys who had so frightened the so-called pair of English tourists behind them? Along with a second study of almost the same size, depicting the girl’s bare legs and feet (Fig. 1), this sketch attests once again to the thorough fixation with detail, with which Menzel prepared his complex compositions.