Cross in Marktbreit 

This is Karl Ballenberger’s pencil drawing of a cross in Marktbreit. Ballenberger was born in the early 19th century, during a period of immense social change. What makes this drawing interesting, beyond its pleasing symmetry, is its attention to a specific location, Marktbreit, in Bavaria. We might think of it as a kind of visual record. But what was Ballenberger trying to record and why? Was this a private devotional image, or something designed for a larger audience? Germany in the 19th century saw the rise of Romanticism, with its focus on local traditions and folk culture. We can examine popular illustrated magazines of the period, architectural pattern books, and travel guides to situate this image within the cultural landscape.