Blick in die Rhön bei Kasbach (Original Title) 

Fried Stern sketched this landscape in Kasbach using graphite, capturing a serene view of the Rhön region. Dominating the foreground is a stark, bare tree, its skeletal branches reaching upwards. Consider this tree – a motif that resonates across centuries. In ancient myths, trees symbolize life, death, and rebirth, acting as conduits between earthly and spiritual realms. We see echoes of this in medieval art, where the tree of knowledge bears fruit, and in Romantic landscapes where solitary trees evoke feelings of melancholy. The starkness of the tree in Stern’s sketch bears a resemblance to the Symbolist movement's preoccupation with mortality and the transient nature of existence. One cannot help but think of the human soul and its connection to the land. The barren branches may speak to a sense of loss. Yet, there is a quiet resilience. The tree, a silent witness, connects us to the cyclical nature of existence, a continuous return of motifs through the corridors of time.