Berglandschap met rotsen before 1890

Eugène Cicéri created this landscape drawing with pen in gray on paper. Note the striking motif of the mountain, evoking a sense of awe and power. The mountain as a symbol is as old as time. Mountains appear across cultures as places of spiritual elevation and divine revelation. In ancient Greece, Mount Olympus was the home of the gods. In the Bible, Moses receives the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. The mountain motif carries an inherent duality: it is both a physical place and a potent symbol of the sacred. Consider how the Romantic painters embraced mountains for their sublime qualities, or even Caspar David Friedrich’s “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog,” where the figure atop the mountain embodies human ambition and introspection. This landscape stirs within us a deep-seated awe of nature, a reflection of our eternal search for meaning.