A Ruined Church in the Forest

c. 1834

Carl Blechen

Associated Names
Carl Blechen

Artist, German, 1798 - 1840

The image shows a dense and somewhat overgrown forest scene with what appears to be ancient ruins or arches in the background. The brushstrokes are loose and fluid, focusing on capturing shapes and textures. The color palette is sepia-toned, with a timeless quality emphasizing light and shadow in the wooded area. Closest to us are tree trunks and thickets with variations in tone hinting at leaves and vegetation.

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Artwork overview

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

(sale, Hollstein & Puppel, Berlin, 27-28 February 1933, no. 688; ill.). Alice Hanile, née Bloem, Wistinghausen; Angelika von Lüttichau-Haniel, Bad Godesberg. Acquired 1979 by Wolfgang Ratjen, Munich; purchased 2007 by NGA.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1990

  • Carl Blechen: zwischen Romantik und Realismus, Nationalgalerie Berlin, 1990, 180, no. 247.

2008

  • L'Age d'or du romantisme allemand: Aquarelles et dessins à l'époque de Goethe, Musée de la Vie romantique, Paris, 2008: 54, cat. no. 3.

2010

  • German Master Drawings from the Wolfgang Ratjen Collection, 1580 - 1900, NGA, 2010: 29, 38, 155, 220-221, no. 81 (entry by Hinrich Sieveking).

Bibliography

1990

  • Sieveking, Hinrich. "Zeichen der Zeit: von Füssli bis Menzel. Aspekte deutscher Zeichenkunst der Goethezeit." In Zeichnung und Moderne: Modelle zeichnerischer Verfahren. Alsfeld, 1990: 126 and 62, fig. 24.

Inscriptions

upper right in brown ink: 580[?] (fragmentary); verso in brown ink: Ciroul...; in graphite: 1272

Watermarks

none

Wikidata ID

Q64537846

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