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+uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/07_Courbet_AI967_001.jpg filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
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+uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/03_Schinkel_WS200-002.jpg filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
+uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/11_Liebermann_NG4-94_001.jpg filter=lfs diff=lfs merge=lfs -text
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uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/01_Schick_AII840_001.txt

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+After studying for four years with the legendary Parisian painter Jacques-Louis David, Christian Gottlieb Schick returned to Stuttgart in 1802. That very year, he began painting the portrait of Heinrike Dannecker, the wife of his close friend and mentor, Johann Heinrich Dannecker. The Danneckers' home, known as the "Danneckerei," was more than just a house—it was a hub for art lovers, filled with ancient sculpture replicas. Schick’s portrait of Heinrike wasn’t just any portrait, though. Her relaxed pose, with a clear and confident gaze, reflected a new sense of freedom for women, one that had grown in the wake of the French Revolution. It’s no accident that Heinrike’s outfit subtly nods to the colors of the French flag—red, white, and blue. And the bouquet she holds, with bellflowers, roses, buttercups, and clover, stands out vividly against her deep blue dress, hinting at her natural, effortless beauty. Schick later wrote to Dannecker, “I remember struggling with the hand holding the flowers. I made all sorts of funny faces to help, and your wife and I laughed every time it came together. I was so happy painting her portrait.” Heinrike sits on a stone bench that brings to mind ancient ruins, her figure extending elegantly beyond the horizon, framed by soft curves that end with the graceful bend of her foot. Behind her, the landscape stretches into gentle mountain ranges, passing over dark green shrubs and a tranquil river valley. Schick masterfully captured her individuality while infusing a timeless, classical beauty. In this painting, Schick’s dream of blending classical ideals with real life reached a stunning peak. Interestingly, an unfinished version of this portrait—abandoned and trimmed by Schick himself—can still be found in the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/02_Constable_AI555_001.txt

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+From the hand of John Constable, the world of modern landscape painting received its deepest inspiration. "He is the true founder of the *paysage intime*," wrote Hugo von Tschudi in 1896, as he reflected on the acquisition of several of Constable’s works. "It is on his achievements that the Barbizon school essentially rests." Constable’s journey began not in the hallowed halls of a master’s workshop, but as a self-taught artist, only finding his way to the Royal Academy at the age of 23, in the year 1799.
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+In 1802, still a student of the Academy, Constable confided in his friend John Dunthorne, declaring that he would return to his birthplace in Bergholt to develop an honest and unpretentious style, striving to become a true painter of nature.
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+Among his early masterpieces, this view of Higham Village by the River Stour, painted around 1804, stands tall. Nestled in the county of Suffolk, near Constable’s own birthplace of East Bergholt, the scene offers a gaze over the rooftops of the village and across the Dedham Vale, stretching toward Stratford St. Mary and Gun Hill. Remarkably, this view remains almost unchanged even today. 
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+Tschudi once observed, *"The portrayal of the English landscape is extraordinarily true,"* noting the subtle echoes of 17th-century Dutch masters in Constable's finely tuned but uniformly brownish tones. Yet, Constable’s vision was grounded in a precise observation of nature. He captured the valley with its rising mist in soft, muted hues. Cows graze in the foreground, while birds soar above the lush trees to the right. Through the cloudy sky, rays of sunlight break free, casting dappled light upon the land.
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+In this timeless scene, Constable’s brush paints not just a landscape, but the spirit of England itself—a place of gentle beauty, serenity, and the quiet drama of nature unfolding.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/03_Schinkel_WS200-002.txt

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+During his first journey to Italy in 1803, Karl Friedrich Schinkel found himself in the coastal region of Istria, where he visited the seaside town of Piran. There, something caught his eye—the cathedral by the sea. He marveled at it, saying: "On a rock stretching from the city into the sea stands the grand cathedral, with its tall tower casting a majestic presence" (K. F. Schinkel, Reisen nach Italien, Berlin 1979, p. 38).
+
+A decade later, in 1813, Schinkel began a series of cathedral paintings with Gothic Cathedral by the Water (National Gallery, Inv.-Nr. A III 842). Two years after that, he created Gothic Church on a Rock by the Sea. In this painting, a group of noblemen in medieval attire rides toward a distant harbor. They pass by a Gothic monument, a nod to the Hallenser Betsäule of 1455. From the sea blows a fierce wind, whipping through the scene. Above, a cathedral rises from the rock, as though born from the stone itself. The sun, low in the sky, hides behind the grand structure, casting a radiant glow around its delicate spires.
+
+Schinkel’s cathedral paintings echo the political and spiritual state of Germany during the Wars of Liberation. During these times, the artist developed a fondness for medieval Germanic themes and Gothic architecture, a style once believed to be of German origin. In fact, it was in the same year this painting was created, 1815, that the Berlin banker Joachim Heinrich Wilhelm Wagener began his art collection with this very work. A copy of the same painting, made by an unknown artist from Schinkel's era, now rests in private hands.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/04_Friedrich_FV317_001.txt

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+In 1825, the *Literarisches Conversations-Blatt* wrote about the Dresden Academy Exhibition, mentioning a "remarkably beautiful large landscape" by Professor Friedrich: *"a solitary mountain region... splendidly depicted with varying tones across the upper mountain ranges. In the foreground, grasses and small trees cling to the towering basalt rocks. Higher up, mist curls around the desolate ridges, and at the top, the shimmering rock faces, crowned with eternal snow, glow in untarnished clarity. The solitude here is eerie; one longs to see at least an eagle or chamois—yet in vain, no life dwells here except for the air and light. Every pulse of emotion seems to falter at this height."* 
+
+Caspar David Friedrich had never actually visited the Alps, yet he created several paintings of these mountains. For his iconic work *The Watzmann*, he used a variety of sources. A key reference was a watercolor study of the mountain’s summit captured by his pupil Johann August Heinrich, now in the National Museum of Oslo. Friedrich also drew on his own sketches from his travels through the Harz Mountains. The rocky formation in the foreground was based on his drawings of the Trudenstein at Hohnekopf, near the Brocken, from June 28, 1811.
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+Friedrich had already exhibited a large Alpine landscape in Dresden in 1824, a view of Mont Blanc (*High Mountain Range*, oil on canvas, 131 x 167 cm, formerly at the National Gallery in Berlin, lost during the war). As with *The Watzmann*, he borrowed from another artist’s drawing, this time a sketch by Carl Gustav Carus. His painting of *The Watzmann* was likely a response to the work of 23-year-old Ludwig Richter, who had also painted the same mountain, exhibiting his work in Dresden in 1824. However, Friedrich rejected detailed, narrative depictions like Richter’s.
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+In Friedrich’s vision, the glacier-clad Watzmann, radiant in bright light, embodies the vastness and grandeur of nature, serving as a distant symbol of divine majesty. Gentle mists hover over the ridges of the Archenkopf and Grünstein mountains below. Friedrich masterfully renders the shifting tones between green and violet. In this isolated alpine landscape, no living creatures are present. The pyramid-like composition culminates in the brilliant white of eternal ice—a concept Friedrich had explored two years earlier in his famous painting *The Sea of Ice* (Hamburger Kunsthalle).
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+Eberhard Hanfstaengl, who acquired *The Watzmann* for the Berlin National Gallery, praised Friedrich’s "artistic and poetic power... in which he blends his own and others’ depictions of nature into a heightened form, transcending mere landscape painting and becoming the epitome of mountain portrayal."

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/05_Blechen_FV40_001.txt

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+The Campagna di Roma, an expansive hilly plain at the foot of the Sabine and Volscian mountains, has long captivated artists. Among them was Carl Blechen, who found inspiration in the stark beauty of this landscape, characterized by solitary pines, marshes, ancient ruins, tombs, and aqueducts. In a series of oil studies, often rendered in a wide horizontal format, Blechen captured the vastness of this terrain through subtle gradations of color, focusing particularly on atmospheric phenomena.
+
+In this particular work, painted in oil on cardboard, a bright strip of sand lies in the sunlight behind the green-brown hills of the foreground, with the remains of an aqueduct visible in the background. However, the real drama of this composition arises from the thunderous sky above. Here, impressive cloud formations gather, pouring down torrents of rain that create a veil over the bluish-gray mountains in the distance.
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+The scene depicts the Aqua Claudia, seen from near the Grotto of Egeria, not far from the Via Appia. This motif has also been explored by other artists, including Camille Corot (National Gallery, London), Johann Martin von Rohden (private collection, Munich), and Eduard Wilhelm Pose (Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main). 
+
+Blechen’s evocative portrayal invites viewers to experience the raw beauty and dramatic atmospheric changes of the Roman countryside, a landscape rich in history and natural splendor.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/06_Menzel_AI900_001.txt

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+Throughout his life, Menzel was drawn to the newly developed areas on the outskirts of the city, and his daily routes often took him past construction sites and wastelands. While the representative buildings of Berlin, redesigned by Schinkel, only casually captured his interest, many of his sketches and paintings from the 1840s feature sandy paths, construction sites, and inconspicuous temporary structures. He frequently depicted the banks of the Schafgraben, now known as the Landwehrkanal, near his home, dedicating a print (1843/44) to its surreal stillness. A number of particularly dynamic pencil drawings (see "Weide," circa 1844, Kupferstichkabinett, Berlin) illustrate the ruined trunks and wild branches of willows lining the water, which were also admired by outsiders. The painting "Construction Site with Willows" is characterized by a silvery blue-green that powerfully pushes into the foreground, compressing the spatial elements to the right and left. Starting with a milky tone and transitioning into a brown shadow zone sprinkled with light spots, it creates a clear complementary contrast with the bright red of the construction site in the background. Here, along with the yellow of the building behind, the effect of strong sunlight accumulates under the dull blue sky. Various materialities—intricate foliage and soft grass, shimmering water, and dirty sand—demand different brush techniques, which can be delicate, summarily executed, or rough. Unexpectedly, intricate human activity becomes visible in the background, further enriching the scene and highlighting Menzel's engagement with the interplay between nature and urban life.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/07_Courbet_AI967_001.txt

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+The representation of a powerful wave in the fleeting moment before it crashes was acquired by Hugo von Tschudi in late 1904 from the art writer and dealer Théodore Duret in Paris; it wasn't until 1906 that the acquisition was approved as a gift from the Kaiser. In early 1905, Gustav Pauli in Bremen followed suit with a smaller yet equally striking version. By 1907, the Städelsche Museums-Verein in Frankfurt am Main, on the suggestion of the new museum director Georg Swarzenski, also acquired a version of the "Wave." All of these wave paintings, clearly a goal for every modern gallery, were created in 1869 in Étretat, with some completed in Paris in 1870. Courbet studied the crashing waves through a large window in a studio directly by the sea, aiming to capture their power and tumultuous force through radical artistic techniques. The colors are layered and applied with a palette knife, giving these depictions of the fluid, moving element an almost monumental solidity. Each wave captures a slice of infinity while simultaneously representing a fleeting moment of permanence right before it breaks. Charles Baudelaire had already recognized the connection between ephemerality and permanence in Courbet’s works, stating, "The modern in today’s art is the transient, the fleeting, the accidental: one half of art. The eternal and immovable constitutes the other half" (Ch. Baudelaire, Œuvres complètes, Vol. 2, Paris 1976, p. 695). Similarly, the Japanese understood the wave motif as a representation of infinity. The knowledge of Japanese woodblock prints, especially Hokusai’s iconic "Wave," was likely assumed by both the artist and the audience. In Japanese art, waves often take on decorative and ornamental qualities, while for both Hokusai and Courbet, they become symbols imbued with deeper meaning. Paul Cézanne explicitly admired Tschudi's acquisition in comparison to the "Wave" at the Louvre. Just as Heinrich von Kleist found resonant words for Caspar David Friedrich’s "Monk by the Sea" (National Gallery, Inv. No. NG 9/85) in 1810, he described Courbet’s wave as a remarkable achievement: "The great waves, which are in Berlin, are wonderful, one of the wonders of the century, much more dynamic, much tenser, with a more poisonous green, a dirtier orange than this one, with the foamy spray of the tide that comes from the depths of eternity, the torn sky and the pale sharpness. It feels as if it is about to engulf you; one recoils. The whole hall smells of water dust" (J. Gasquet, Cézanne, Berlin 1930, p. 141). Courbet faced criticism for his use of "dirty colors" from the beginning. However, he aimed to avoid smooth ideality through this method. For Cézanne, the "dirtier orange" deepened the truth content, thereby enhancing beauty. Contemporary French criticism also interpreted the "Wave" paintings, created between 1869 and 1870, as carrying a political message: a republican agitation symbolizing the strength of the people.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/08_Monet_AI1013_001.txt

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+In 1866, while painting the view of the Church of Saint Germain l’Auxerrois (National Gallery, Inv. No. A I 984), Claude Monet found himself wavering between a dark-toned, accurate architectural depiction and the dissolution of figures in light. This work marks an early piece of Impressionism. Eight years later, his vibrant painting titled "Summer" from 1874 can be regarded as a programmatic image of the Impressionist movement. 
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+In the spring of 1874, Monet and his fellow artists showcased their works—previously rejected by the official Salon—at the studio of the photographer Nadar on Boulevard des Capucines in Paris. A critique by Louis Leroy in *Le Charivari* on April 25, 1874, which referenced Monet's painting *Impression, Sunrise* from 1872 (Musée Marmottan Monet, Paris), mockingly labeled them as "Impressionists," thereby coining a name that endures in art history.
+
+Among the paintings Monet created in the summer of 1874 is this sun-drenched landscape featuring a wide meadow with hazy blue mountains in the distance. Monet captured the grass, trees, mountains, and figures with short, colorful, and delicately applied brushstrokes, convincingly conveying bright light and atmospheric mood. The figures—Monet's wife Camille, his son Jean, and a third person—are highlighted by their bright clothing but are not portrayed more distinctly than the wind-blown trees or the colorful shadows on the yellow grass. As Leroy rightly observed, Monet's focus was on pure impression.
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+Paul Cézanne later remarked to Ambroise Vollard that Monet was "only an eye, but, by God, what an eye!" Around the same time, Hans Thoma in Munich, influenced by Böcklin, also created a painting titled "Summer" (1872, National Gallery, Inv. No. A II 510). Thoma's vivid symbolism was met with both praise and criticism from contemporary critics, depending on their aesthetic stance. However, upon closer examination, these two summer depictions reveal surprising similarities: in both cases, the downplaying of figures avoids any genre-specific elements, rendering the fleeting moment timeless.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/09_Blechen_AII823_001.txt

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+The attractive natural spectacle of the Anio River plunging into the valley near Tivoli was a popular destination for travelers to Italy. The city, known for its waterfalls and ancient ruins, attracted numerous artists. As early as 1812, the 14-year-old Karl Blechen created a drawing of the waterfalls based on an external source (P. O. Rave, *Karl Blechen*, Berlin 1940, Cat. No. 42). When he fulfilled his long-held wish to travel to Italy in 1828, he quickly visited Tivoli shortly after arriving in Rome. A series of sketches and paintings, some completed after his return in his Berlin studio, resulted from this multi-day stay (ibid., Cat. No. 879–882).
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+In this particular work, Blechen focused on the smallest and least spectacular of the cascades, which flows over the rugged slopes of the karst rock bathed in harsh sunlight. Shadowy rock crevices draw the viewer’s gaze into the abyss, along which a steep path descends, its edge lined with dusty shrubs struggling to survive. There is no tiered landscape, no figures, and no narrative details in the foreground; instead, stark ocher-yellow rock walls dominate the light-filled composition. Concentrating on the structures of the landscape, Blechen presents a fragment of nature in an immediate close-up view. 

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/10_Boecklin_967648_NG2-80_001.txt

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+In the autumn of 1879, Arnold Böcklin spent time on the island of Ischia, where one of the notable visual impressions was the Castello Aragonese, a fortress located on a small island. When he was approached in the spring of 1880 by the young widow Marie Berna during a studio visit in Florence, who requested a "picture for dreaming," he likely recalled this fortress, which intertwined with other memories, such as the islands of the dead like San Michele in Venice and Etruscan rock necropolises.
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+Böcklin's painting *Die Toteninsel* (The Isle of the Dead) is among his most popular creations. He achieved its evocative effect by combining several motifs into a compelling emotional formula. The elements of island, water, castle, or villa by the sea had long been present in his work, but here they coalesce into a vision of existential reflection. The depicted location feels eerie, as the gaze guided by the staircase does not penetrate the dark interior. 
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+The strict symmetry, the calm vertical and horizontal lines, and the circular island enclosed by towering rock walls, along with the magical lighting, create an atmosphere of solemnity and elevation, evoking feelings of stillness and transcendence. The still water and the boat with a figure draped in white behind the coffin add a melancholic tone, deepening the painting’s somber and reflective mood.
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+This artwork, Widely reproduced in countless engravings and photographs, Die Toteninsel encapsulated the spirit of an entire era, ultimately becoming a beloved image and a symbol of the fin de siècle. Its evocative themes of melancholy and transcendence resonated deeply with audiences, solidifying its status as an iconic artwork of that time.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/11_Liebermann_NG4-94_001.txt

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+Art oriented social gatherings in outdoor locales were a central theme for the era of Impressionist artists. Max Liebermann created striking paintings of beer gardens during his time in Munich and revisited this subject during his stays in Holland. However, many of his most lively depictions of these bustling venues were produced after he settled into his summer house at Wannsee in 1910.
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+Around 1916, Liebermann focused on scenes from the Nikolskoe restaurant, located along the Havel River towards Potsdam. This blockhouse, built in 1819 as a gift from the king to his daughter Charlotte and her husband, the Russian heir apparent Nicholas, has long been a popular destination for visitors from Berlin and Potsdam, even after being reconstructed following a fire.
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+In his paintings, Liebermann depicts a relaxed gathering on a cheerful summer day, characterized by his signature dappled sunlight illuminating the scene. The legs of the chairs are skillfully integrated into the overall composition, allowing the vibrant atmosphere to take center stage. The only reminder of the ongoing First World War is a uniformed figure among the guests. Liebermann captured the Nikolskoe restaurant multiple times between 1915 and 1916, often in a sketch-like style, and he created a lithograph based on this motif in 1916. His works encapsulate the social life of the era while subtly reflecting the broader context of the time.

uc_spk_Landscape2Soundscape_Masterpieces_pics/12_Slevogt_AII1022_001.txt

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+Around 1900, the Hamburger Kunsthalle, under the direction of Alfred Lichtwark, was particularly active in art education. A key aspect of his vision was the development of a collection showcasing works from the Hanseatic city. Approximately thirty artists were commissioned by Lichtwark to portray prominent Hamburg citizens or to paint views of the city and its surroundings. These works aimed to foster a stronger cultural and historical connection between the residents and their city. At the same time, Lichtwark hoped that by generating interest in familiar subjects, visitors to the Kunsthalle would become more open to modern artistic forms.
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+Lichtwark entrusted commissions to painters he highly respected. In this context, Slevogt created a portrait of Senator William Henry O’Swald for the Kunsthalle in 1905. Additionally, without any specific commission, he produced several landscapes of the Alster, including the one in question. While Max Liebermann, in his painting *Sommerabend an der Alster* (1910; Kunsthalle Hamburg), focused on elegant ladies in their boats, Slevogt paid little attention to human figures. Instead, he was captivated by the atmospheric qualities: the blurring of contours along the distant shore, the reflections of water and sky, and the changing colors and light of the evening.
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+Slevogt captured an open, dynamic scene using lively brushstrokes and vibrant colors. The depiction presents Hamburg as a leisure destination, with only the distant lights and towers hinting at the presence of a city.