A Storm over the Mountains near Nocera c. 1787

Curator: What we have here is Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's drawing, "A Storm over the Mountains near Nocera," created around 1787. It's rendered in pencil, pen, and ink. My first thought is "drama queen!" Editor: (chuckles) Drama? Really? I see it as more of a meditation on the sublime. Goethe was, after all, a key figure in the Storm and Stress movement which glorified raw emotion and the power of nature against human constructs. Curator: True, true. I’m mostly reacting to that torrential downpour he captured. It dominates the landscape, practically swallowing the town of Nocera! Do you think he exaggerated it? Editor: Possibly, but perhaps he's amplifying what that kind of weather *means*. Look at those figures huddled together in the foreground; they seem so small against that atmospheric power. Goethe seems keen to examine our fragile relationship to an uncontrollable natural world. Curator: They do look like they’re having a terrible day. He manages to convey movement and light even with simple lines and monochrome washes. And it makes you think about climate, the vulnerability of the population at this historical moment. The architectural structure itself feels rather isolated and fragile in relation to this ominous moment. Editor: And Goethe wasn't just sketching the scene—he was engaging with Enlightenment ideals of scientific observation while simultaneously diving into the Romantic sensibility, right? This isn't just topographical documentation. Curator: Precisely. It feels almost theatrical. A stage set for the grand opera of nature. The mountains themselves look like painted backdrops. Editor: That makes sense. This drawing and Goethe’s entire journey through Italy helped transform landscape painting. Rather than depicting some kind of utopia, landscapes became powerful conveyors of feeling. The weather here is as important as the buildings! Curator: Absolutely! Even the cows seem to know something is up. Okay, I'll give it to you – not just "drama," but a sophisticated interrogation of human emotions, the relationship between the self and a vast and potentially menacing universe. Not bad for a quick sketch, eh? Editor: Exactly, and what is particularly interesting is its relevance today as ecological disasters become more frequent. Curator: Very good point! That makes the people below a lot less "dramatic" and far more prophetic than my initial reaction accounted for.