Landscape full of trees 

This landscape, sketched by Franz Kobell, presents us with a scene full of trees, water, and human presence, rendered with the immediacy of ink. The trees, more than mere botanical forms, become symbols of life's cyclical renewal. The motif of the shepherd with his flock along the riverbank, while pastoral and seemingly simple, echoes across time. We find it in classical Roman idylls, where shepherds embody a longing for a simpler, more natural existence. This yearning is deeply embedded in the collective psyche, resurfacing in various guises throughout art history, each time reflecting a desire to escape the complexities of civilization. The water, a life-giving element, also carries potent symbolic weight. Water is not just about purity and refreshment, but also about the unconscious and the flowing, ever-changing nature of existence. Consider how the image of a river appears in dreams, representing the stream of consciousness itself. Kobell's landscape is not merely a depiction of nature, but a potent symbolic space where ancient human desires and fears are constantly renegotiated.