ABSTRACT
Literature and music, enjoyed in their own homes or in the small circles, which are typical of the Biedermeier era, offered them reassurance as to their continued membership of the burgher class, despite the pauperization of many of their members. The first half of the nineteenth century brought profound changes to the artisans and small traders as a group. Contemporary painters, of whose work there are many examples in south German museums, recorded the likeness of local artisans, dressed in their Sunday best and accompanied by their families. The serious economic situation of many artisans was a major cause of revolution, but an important psychological cause was their growing sense of division within their own ranks. Other writers during the 'Hungry Forties' tried to bring home to readers the scale of human suffering among artisans by comparing their situation with the horrors in Ireland.
