Rotsachtig landschap met een waterval 1766 - 1767

Franz Edmund Weirotter produced this rocky landscape with a waterfall as an etching. This image reflects the 18th-century shift in artistic tastes, away from the formal, idealized landscapes of the aristocracy and toward a more ‘natural’ aesthetic. This coincided with a period of social and political upheaval, where Enlightenment ideas challenged existing hierarchies. Weirotter's choice of a common landscape, rather than a grand historical scene, subtly democratizes art. Made in the Austrian Empire, the image hints at the burgeoning Romantic movement, where nature became a source of spiritual and emotional experience. Yet, it’s also a product of its time. The relatively new institution of the art market meant that artists like Weirotter were more and more often producing images for sale to a growing middle class of art consumers. To fully understand this piece, one needs to consider the social and economic context that shaped its creation, exploring archival sales records, contemporary art criticism, and biographical details of the artist.