Bavarian Highlands

Morgenstern, Christian Ernst Bernhard 1805 - 1867

Summary

This panoramic view of the Bavarian Highlands is taken from the near bank of a shallow gorge that meanders across a vast plain toward distant mountains. Steep banks of ochre earth and low scrub rise straight up from the stream. Spindly trees and saplings stand on the far bank to the left, backlit by a bright, clouded sky. A heron in the water offers a sense of the grand scale of this vista and a distant plume of smoke behind the trees is the only hint of human activity in the vast expanse of wilderness. Christian Morgenstern trained in Hamburg with Siegfried Bendixen (1786-1864) and at the Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi in Copenhagen, before settling in Munich. This painting probably dates from the early to middle part of his career, perhaps 1830-45, before he began to abandon detailed foregrounds and extensive light-filled backgrounds, such as this, for more atmospheric and romantic panoramas that were mainly intended to offer a ‘spiritual' sense of place.