Waldlandschaft mit Wasserfall, im Hintergrund Pilger, über eine Brücke gehend 

August Lucas created this landscape drawing with pen and brown ink in Germany, though the exact date is unknown. The scene depicts a wooded landscape with a waterfall and, in the background, pilgrims crossing a bridge. Landscape painting had a public role in nineteenth-century Germany. It was intertwined with cultural and political nationalism. Artists expressed the uniqueness of the German lands to inspire a sense of national identity among its people. This drawing seems to do that in its focus on the distinctive terrain, the artist brings the viewer into an awe-inspiring encounter with nature. But look closer. By including pilgrims in the background Lucas complicates the image. The pilgrims suggest that a spiritual dimension can be found in nature. To fully understand this drawing, we can research landscape painting and the rise of nationalism in 19th-century Germany, along with the tradition of pilgrimage in German culture. Only then can we grasp its meaning in its original context.