Hohlweg zwischen Felsen, rechts zwei Hütten, auf dem Weg ein Reiter mit Begleiter zu Fuß 

Curator: This intriguing drawing is titled "Hohlweg zwischen Felsen, rechts zwei Hütten, auf dem Weg ein Reiter mit Begleiter zu Fuß," housed here at the Städel Museum. It's attributed to Johann Georg Wagner and executed with tempera, charcoal and white heightening on paper. Editor: The tonality immediately strikes me – a muted landscape, almost monochromatic. It evokes a feeling of solitude and perhaps a slight foreboding. Curator: Notice how Wagner uses charcoal to delineate form and volume, especially in those magnificent rock formations. Tempera provides a delicate base. It highlights the material qualities that contribute to the composition. Editor: And the rider. Such a classic Romantic symbol: the wanderer, the figure in nature dwarfed by its immensity. Does he perhaps signify the human soul seeking something profound? Curator: Or is he just going home to the huts? The presence of the dwellings on the right draws the eye away from the rider, and complicates such symbolic readings. The built and natural environments coexist and depend on one another. Editor: Yes, but consider how small the huts are against those imposing rocks. They do appear so fragile. I wonder if Wagner was perhaps playing with established imagery and questioning its true importance. Is that path treacherous? It invites introspection, but with that tree seeming to watch on... there's a lingering suggestion that everything isn't safe. Curator: Safe? The artist might be considering more how to achieve luminosity and form in humble materials! Paper can be costly but both it, charcoal and tempera would have been available. He coaxes light from darkness using these seemingly simple things. This tells us more about the process of labor. Editor: A question for today then is: can't materials be interpreted and re-interpreted beyond when they were made? The symbols remain, and it’s for each of us to reflect. Curator: Very true. Understanding materials grounds us but iconography lets us journey onward.