Abendlandschaft, im Vordergrund ein Waldweg mit lichtem Buschwerk 

Christian Gottfried Mathes created this landscape drawing, Abendlandschaft, im Vordergrund ein Waldweg mit lichtem Buschwerk, using pen and brown ink. Mathes, who was working in the late 18th century, captured not just a landscape, but a feeling. During this time, there was a growing appreciation for the sublime and the picturesque, especially among those with the means to travel and experience nature firsthand. But what about those who couldn't? How might their understanding of the world be shaped by images like these? Think about the labor and privilege embedded in creating and viewing such scenes. Who had access to education and materials to become an artist, and whose stories were being told, or left out, in these depictions of nature? This drawing invites us to consider whose perspectives are valued and whose are marginalized in the narratives we construct about the world around us. It encourages a deeper exploration of the relationship between art, society, and the individual's place within it.