Zerklüftete Felspartie, im Vordergrund ein zerborstener Baum 

Franz Kobell rendered this landscape with etching sometime before 1822, capturing the jagged rocks and a broken tree in the foreground. The motif of the shattered tree—the ruined arboreal form—resonates deeply with the transience and fragility of life. We see this echoed through epochs: in classical depictions of pastoral settings marred by the decay of time, or even pre-Christian traditions that revered trees. In many cultures, trees symbolize the cycle of life, death, and rebirth; but here, Kobell presents a disruption. Consider the image of the tree, how its symbolism has shifted. Once a potent signifier of life, here it is broken, much like the ruins in classical art that speak to mortality and the impermanence of human achievement. This image might unconsciously awaken in us an awareness of our mortality. These symbols continue their cyclical journey through art history, perpetually resurfacing to remind us of the deep, often unsettling, truths about existence.