St. Goarhausen on the Rhine between Koblenz and Mainz 1827

John Frederick Lewis created this watercolor of St. Goarhausen, a town on the Rhine, sometime in the 19th century. The romantic tradition of landscape painting celebrated nature as a source of spiritual and aesthetic experience, but it also was a powerful expression of nationalism. Here, Lewis depicts a distinctive site in Germany, a country that was undergoing massive industrialization. The steep rock formations and dense forests are presented as a sublime escape from modern life. The Rhine itself was freighted with cultural significance, as the location of numerous battles and folk tales. By painting it, Lewis participates in constructing a vision of national identity rooted in nature and history. To fully understand this artwork, we can consult travel guides, historical accounts, and literary sources from the period. This helps us to better understand the cultural and political contexts in which it was made and viewed. Art always reflects the society that produces it.