Spruce trees at the Via Mala 

Curator: Right now, we’re looking at a pencil sketch titled "Spruce Trees at the Via Mala," housed here at the Städel Museum, by Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. Editor: It feels so...still. The soft graphite gives everything a hushed, almost ethereal quality. The trees seem to just barely be there. Curator: I think that speaks to the tradition Schirmer's working within, wouldn't you say? Landscape in the Romantic tradition seeks to capture not just the scenery, but the sublime emotion that the viewer, or indeed the artist, experiences in nature. The almost feverish speed of the pencil sketches really communicates the ephemeral, ungraspable qualities of those emotions. Editor: Speed is right! Look at the varied pressure and the visible layering of marks—that frantic energy to capture something is so apparent. He’s noting details, sure, but more than that he's figuring something out about the forms right on the page. What paper is he using, I wonder? It has some tooth to really grab the graphite, judging by how dark he's gotten it in places. And what pencils did he use? Are some harder than others to create this full range of tonal values? Curator: Great questions! He seems to use graphite, chalk, and possibly even etching on paper. Looking at the sharp contrast between the rocks in the foreground, this would indicate different media utilized for light and depth within the study. I feel that the visible geological strata and construction—note that collapsed, human-made pathway held up by a single timber!—hint to us that Schirmer perhaps sought out locations for more than mere picturesque aesthetic appreciation. It shows how mankind’s labor attempts to traverse these mighty formations. Editor: Absolutely, and the Via Mala was a significant trade route, wasn't it? I am always thinking about how these landscape images were also, you know, records of infrastructure. Like, we see sublime nature, but somebody also built that little fence up there, laid that path, tried to control this space. I like how this sketchbook page holds all of those things together. Curator: It is as if the material and the immaterial converge, yes. And what results is a deeply atmospheric emotional expression…almost like the pencil is exhaling the spirit of the place. Editor: Almost like we can feel the artist grappling with the pressures both human and geological, leaving a visible trace. Thanks to both we're able to consider their impacts and create our own lasting trace, too.