Classical Landscape with a Waterfall c. 1660

Wilhelm von Bemmel made this pen and wash landscape drawing sometime in the 17th century. Born in Germany, Bemmel spent much of his career in Italy, and this drawing reflects the fashion for idealized classical landscapes that Northern European artists cultivated there. The picturesque waterfall and craggy rocks are set off against a distant view of classical ruins. The image speaks to a Northern European fascination with Italy as the cradle of Western civilization. The drawing also reflects the growth of landscape as an independent genre, and the market for such images among collectors. Bemmel's landscapes catered to a desire for romantic, yet ordered, views of nature, rendered with a mastery of light and atmosphere. To fully understand such landscapes, the art historian looks to period guidebooks, travel accounts, and the biographies of artists and patrons, all of which can shed light on the cultural values invested in these seemingly straightforward images.