Heroic landscape 1810

Franz Kobell created this landscape drawing with pen and grey ink. It is an interesting reflection of the period when the status of landscape painting was changing. Kobell, working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, existed in a society grappling with new ideas about nature, national identity, and the sublime. The figures walking alongside the river aren't the main subject but instead add scale to the dramatic landscape. As viewers, we are invited to contemplate the power of nature, but this emotional experience was not accessible to everyone. The concept of the sublime was largely a construct of the educated, wealthy elite who had the time and resources to contemplate such ideas. Kobell’s approach to rendering nature is deeply influenced by his cultural context, and as viewers, we are asked to consider who gets to experience and define the ‘heroic’ aspects of nature.