Weidelandschaft mit Vieh, rechts ein Felssporn 

Franz Kobell made this landscape with pen and brown ink sometime between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It depicts a pastoral scene with cattle grazing in a meadow, a rocky cliff to the right, and figures on horseback in the distance. Drawn during a period of significant social and economic change in Germany, this image reflects a growing interest in the natural world, but also the changing relationships between people and the land. Kobell's choice of subject matter and style would have appealed to the tastes of the aristocratic and bourgeois patrons who were becoming increasingly important in the art world. His careful rendering of the landscape, with its attention to detail and emphasis on natural forms, would have been seen as a reflection of the values of the Enlightenment. As art historians, our understanding of this drawing is shaped by the social and institutional contexts in which it was made and received. By researching the history of landscape art, the patronage system, and the cultural values of the time, we can gain a deeper appreciation.