Gezicht op een landschap met sneeuw before 1898

This is a photograph by Albin Fichte, titled ‘Winterabend’, capturing a snow-laden landscape. Here, the stark winter scene carries echoes of the ‘pathetic formula,’ a visual language that conveys deep emotional states. The snow, blanketing the landscape, evokes feelings of melancholy and introspection. Note how the skeletal trees reach skyward. The motif of bare branches, so common in Northern European art, is reminiscent of Caspar David Friedrich’s landscapes, and it is loaded with a sense of mortality and spiritual yearning. Consider the human fascination with winter, a time of dormancy and reflection, symbolically linked to death and rebirth. The cyclical nature of seasons mirrors our internal experiences of loss and renewal, engaging our subconscious on a profound level. The ‘pathetic formula’ transcends time, resurfacing in various forms, each resonating with the collective memory and emotional landscape of its era.