Haus in Bosco 1933

Christian Rohlfs rendered this watercolor painting, ‘Haus in Bosco’, with dynamic brushstrokes of brown, white, and blue. It depicts a house constructed of horizontal logs. Rohlfs painted this scene during his time as part of the German Expressionist movement. The Expressionists rejected the industrial progress of their era, longing for an earlier time. Many Expressionists looked to pre-industrial, rural settings to find an alternative to what they saw as the alienation of modern life. By painting houses like this one, Rohlfs participates in the Expressionist construction of an idealized pre-modern world. The political turmoil and social changes of early 20th-century Germany, as well as the rise of museums as arbiters of taste, are important contexts for understanding this painting. Delving into these histories through archives, publications, and other resources gives us a better understanding of the meaning and function of ‘Haus in Bosco.’