Landschaft mit Gebäuden am Wasser 1744

Johann Ludwig Aberli made this landscape drawing using pen and grey ink in 18th century Switzerland. At the time, Swiss artists like Aberli were developing a distinctive style of landscape art. Here, the scene depicts buildings by a lake, framed by trees. It's rendered with fine lines and subtle shading. The picturesque qualities of the Swiss landscape held immense appeal for both local and international audiences at the time. Aberli and his contemporaries were responding to a growing demand for idealized views of Switzerland, fueled by the rise of tourism and a burgeoning market for topographical prints and drawings. The institutional history of art in Switzerland at the time was somewhat limited. There were no major art academies. Artists relied on patronage, print sales, and teaching to sustain themselves. Aberli himself was a successful printmaker and drawing teacher. To better understand the art of this period, historians consult prints, drawings, travel guides, and other visual and textual sources. These help to reconstruct the social and cultural context in which these works were created and consumed. Ultimately, they reveal the complex ways in which art reflects and shapes our understanding of place and identity.