Landscape with trees 

Peter Becker created this pencil drawing, ‘Landscape with Trees’, sometime during his career as a professor at the Städel School in Frankfurt. Becker’s teaching was rooted in close observation of nature, and this landscape reflects his commitment to direct study. But landscape art also has deep social and cultural roots. Throughout the 19th century, landscape painting was closely tied to ideas of national identity. Artists sought to capture the unique character of their homeland. In Germany, this often meant turning to the countryside, and particularly to the forests and mountains that seemed to embody the nation’s spirit. While this drawing is not overtly political, it reflects a broader cultural trend. By depicting a peaceful, idealized landscape, Becker implicitly affirms the values of order, stability, and tradition. To fully understand it, we would want to know more about Becker’s place in the Frankfurt art world and the specific locations that he sketched. Art history reminds us that even the simplest image is shaped by social and institutional forces.