Landschaft mit hohem Wasserfall 

Curator: Before us is Landschaft mit hohem Wasserfall, or Landscape with a High Waterfall, an ink drawing by Franz Kobell, held here at the Städel Museum. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the dynamic contrast between the wildness of the water and the solidity of the rocks. It evokes a sense of nature's raw power. Curator: Observe how the composition is built on diagonal lines—from the cascading water at the top, down through the rocks and the foliage at the sides. The artist used different densities of lines to create textures; this helps describe the volumes of the forms, and guide the eye through the visual planes. Editor: The waterfall acts as a powerful symbol. Water, in general, represents purification and renewal. The waterfall heightens that feeling with an added element of overwhelming force, almost cleansing. I notice what looks like two tiny figures standing at the top of the falls as well. That really enhances the sublime quality. Curator: You're right, those tiny figures enhance the scale and majesty of the landscape. Semiotically, their inclusion serves to emphasize human vulnerability in the face of nature. However, what interests me further is Kobell’s treatment of the trees. Look at how he abstracts them; the negative spaces between the carefully scribbled lines create a convincing yet artificial effect. Editor: I see them as more than abstract. They offer shelter, growth. There is a cyclical quality, as nature reclaims even the most challenging of terrains, rocks transformed to places where life persists, always and forever. It makes the composition vibrate. Curator: It’s true, those trees contrast quite starkly with the more chaotic, fragmented quality in the water itself, which directs our reading of the overall composition from top to bottom, and back to top, in endless reinterpretation. Editor: It certainly is a fascinating interpretation of the sublime and our place within it, framed so well with pen and ink. Curator: A wonderful piece for us to explore these contrasts further, wouldn't you agree?