Klosterkirche in Auhausen 

Karl Ballenberger made this drawing of the Klosterkirche in Auhausen with graphite on paper sometime in the first half of the 19th century. In this period, many artists turned their attention to the architecture of the past. But why this sudden interest in the past? Well, in Germany and elsewhere, the great church buildings of the medieval era were seen as embodiments of national identity. They were a powerful visual shorthand for a shared cultural heritage. So, although this drawing looks like a straightforward record of a real place, it also speaks to the development of cultural institutions and of national consciousness in 19th-century Germany. If you would like to explore this topic further, look for publications on the history of German art, architecture, and nationalism, particularly from the period after the Napoleonic Wars.