Gewässer in einer Berglandschaft, im Vordergrund Fischer und weidende Kühe 

Franz Kobell made this landscape drawing of a mountain lake, with a boat and grazing cows, in pen and brown ink. Born in Munich, Kobell came of age during a period of significant social change when the traditional structures of feudal society were being challenged by Enlightenment ideals. As court painter, Kobell was in service of the Wittelsbach dynasty who ruled Bavaria for centuries, and he was also a member of the Mannheim School of artists. This group sought to depict the world in a way that reflected the classical ideals of beauty and harmony. There is a tension in Kobell's idyllic landscape. The scene idealizes rural life, yet omits the realities of peasant labor. This artistic choice reflects prevailing societal hierarchies and the economic disparities of the time. It raises questions about whose stories are being told and whose are being left out. The drawing speaks to the power of art to both reflect and shape our understanding of society and the environment.