Kronberg 

Peter Becker made this pencil drawing of Kronberg sometime in the nineteenth century. The sketch gives us an insight into the cultural role of landscape art at the time. Becker was a student at the Städel Museum in Frankfurt, and the museum's collection would have shaped his understanding of art. Landscape art in Germany at the time was often tied to ideas of national identity and the romantic appreciation of nature. The view of Kronberg evokes the kind of picturesque scenery that was becoming popular with tourists, helped by the development of train travel and increased leisure time. As an art historian, I would want to explore the Städel Museum's archives to understand the artistic education Becker received, and to look at guidebooks and travel writing of the period to see how Kronberg was being represented to a wider public. Art like this doesn't just reflect a place, it actively shapes how we see it.