F. Gräf, German, 19th century, The Neckar River, 1830, Oil on panel, 16 3/8 x 22 7/8 in., Saint Vincent Archabbey Collection, Gift of King Ludwig I of Bavaria.Photo: Richard Stoner.
While little is known of the artist of this pastoral landscape, it is likely that he or she was among the early 19th century artists, cartographers, and naturalists who flocked to the banks of the Rhine River to document their discoveries. This harmonious vista depicts the Neckar River, a tributary of the Rhine, located in Germany’s southwestern state of Baden-Württemberg. Lumber harvested in the surrounding Black Forest traveled down the Neckar en route to shipping yards as distant as the Netherlands.
During an age of commercial expansion and empirical exploration, artists often produced romanticized visions of the environment that reinforced beliefs that nature was to be subdued to meet human ends. Medieval steeples and feudal towers of villages clustered along the river indicate the enduring architectural achievements of previous generations. Arbor barriers separate fields used for farming. The scene is foregrounded by a shepherd boy playing the flute while his flock peacefully graze nearby. The tree that dominates the left edge of the painting is contrasted by the stump in the foreground, affording us an unobstructed view of the expansive valley and a symbolic nod to impending change. Within a decade of this painting’s completion, the introduction of railways and steam-powered barges would industrialize the region.
During an age of commercial expansion and empirical exploration, artists often produced romanticized visions of the environment that reinforced beliefs that nature was to be subdued to meet human ends. Medieval steeples and feudal towers of villages clustered along the river indicate the enduring architectural achievements of previous generations. Arbor barriers separate fields used for farming. The scene is foregrounded by a shepherd boy playing the flute while his flock peacefully graze nearby. The tree that dominates the left edge of the painting is contrasted by the stump in the foreground, affording us an unobstructed view of the expansive valley and a symbolic nod to impending change. Within a decade of this painting’s completion, the introduction of railways and steam-powered barges would industrialize the region.