No other painting by Felix Schlesinger is so widely reproduced in children's books and postcards as Die Puppenmutter, a testament to its enduring popularity in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its title, which translates as "The Doll's Mother," hints at the sentimental genre scenes that made Schlesinger's reputation in German-speaking Europe. While the exact date and circumstances of its creation remain uncertain, the work is frequently cited in period catalogues as a quintessential example of Schlesinger's gentle humor and keen observation of childhood. At the center of Die Puppenmutter, a young girl cradles her doll with the gravity of a real mother, her small hands arranged with careful tenderness.

Around her, younger siblings or friends look on, some with curiosity, others with amusement, as if taking part in an impromptu lesson in domestic responsibility. The scattered toys and soft daylight filtering through the window create a world that is both intimate and ordinary, capturing a fleeting moment of childhood imitation. This scene recalls the domestic genre tradition of Johann Georg Meyer von Bremen, yet Schlesinger's touch is lighter, focusing more on the playfulness and innocence of the children rather than the moral undertones often found in similar works. Though the precise provenance of Die Puppenmutter is unclear, paintings of this type were typically destined for the homes of the rising middle class, who favored sentimental depictions of family life.

Schlesinger himself was active in Hamburg and Berlin, and his works circulated widely through prints and reproductions, making his images familiar well beyond their original settings. Today, the painting survives as a beloved example of nineteenth-century German genre painting, its popularity undimmed by the passage of time, though the original canvas's current location is not definitively known.