Two Figures Resting on Hillside near Two Trees n.d.

Franz Kobell created this drawing, Two Figures Resting on Hillside near Two Trees, using pen and brown ink. It invites us to consider the place of landscape in late eighteenth-century German society. The figures nestled in the hillside draw us into the scene, but Kobell’s focus isn’t so much on human drama as on the natural landscape. Germany at this time was experiencing a revival of interest in the natural world, with artists turning away from the formal gardens of the aristocracy towards more rugged, rural scenes. This shift reflected a broader social trend: a rising middle class eager to express its own values and tastes. Such an image would have circulated in print form, and it's through this distribution that the artist staked his claim in the popular imagination. By studying such images and the cultural trends that inform them, we can understand the changing function of art in society.