Fluß zwischen Felsen, am Ufer eine Schafherde 

Curator: We’re now looking at "Fluss zwischen Felsen, am Ufer eine Schafherde", or "River between Rocks, a Flock of Sheep on the Bank," an ink and graphite drawing on paper. It comes to us from Franz Kobell, sometime in the 18th century. Editor: The light and shade, that almost sepia tone, evoke a feeling of… melancholic nostalgia? The kind you associate with Romantic landscape painting, certainly, but it’s quieter. More personal. Curator: Note how Kobell has constructed the scene using a careful layering of light and dark washes. The precision in the articulation of the foliage is quite striking, given the overall atmospheric effect. The materiality here provides an inherent softness; look at the weave and surface of the paper, which temper the lines in both ink and graphite. Editor: I am drawn to the symbolic placement of the sheep near the water. In Western art, sheep are common metaphors for innocence, and are often seen near rivers as baptismal symbolism. Here, however, the two shepherds seem almost dwarfed. What would be traditionally read as an idyllic, peaceful symbol of nature here borders the melancholic. Curator: I see what you mean about scale and the implied narrative. Look how the large rocks loom forward into our space and the imposing size of the trees which draws attention from the background. However, consider that Kobell employed this layering, this contrast, to effectively flatten the image and bring us into its perspectival logic. Editor: Is it not then interesting, how despite its adherence to perspectival traditions, Kobell subverts the feeling it evokes through the interplay of symbolic imagery and visual storytelling? The eye wants an Eden, but it settles upon a quieted recognition. Curator: Perhaps it’s in that quiet that its true strength resides. Thanks to Kobell's technical capabilities, this modest scene offers something more introspective. Editor: I find myself now interpreting the river as a threshold. A place of transition where those flocks are slowly inching forward.