Reclining Man in a Mountainous Landscape with Waterfalls 1770 - 1841

Curator: Isn’t there something so dreamlike about this landscape? This is Johann Georg von Dillis' "Reclining Man in a Mountainous Landscape with Waterfalls," dating roughly from 1770 to 1841. The piece, a pen, ink, and watercolor drawing, resides here at the Metropolitan Museum. Editor: Absolutely. My first thought? That figure seems utterly dwarfed. The scale of those mountains and the implied thunder of the waterfalls against such a small human form makes me feel quite… insignificant. A little deliciously so. Curator: Precisely! That’s part of the Romantic sensibility Dillis captures. He uses light and shadow to great effect. Note how the darker washes of ink emphasize the rugged, almost primordial nature of the landscape. Editor: And see how his reclining man seems at one with it all— the pose echoes the gentle slopes. It feels very deliberately composed to provoke something elemental. The use of plein-air techniques definitely elevates the drawing’s atmosphere. It speaks to the cultural values assigned to nature. Curator: It’s intriguing how Dillis' landscape skirts the edge of realism, hinting at an idealized, even theatrical vision. Considering his role as court painter, it makes me wonder about his audience—were these scenes simply idyllic backdrops for the privileged? Editor: It seems very on-brand, no? But isn't that figure a tiny bit too clean, too…classical to belong in a genuinely wild space? A visual signifier to tie it all neatly in with an established visual vocabulary? Curator: That’s a provocative reading! I would consider Dillis less tied to those traditional visual constructs and rather a visionary, capable of rendering visible the hidden pulse of nature, through a language of aesthetic idealism, certainly, but never dismissive. Editor: Fair enough. Dillis really invites us to consider our place in the grand scheme, even if, at first sight, one takes him as some kind of proto-landscape influencer! It certainly got me thinking!