Flußtal, rechts steiler Felsen 

Curator: Let's take a moment with this landscape by Franz Kobell, titled "Flußtal, rechts steiler Felsen"—"River Valley, Steep Rocks on the Right." It resides here at the Städel Museum, though we, sadly, don't have an exact date. Editor: My immediate thought is one of tranquility. There’s something about the soft washes and gentle rendering that speaks of a quiet moment of observation. Though, if I am honest, it’s giving ‘sepia filter on Instagram’ vibes. Curator: I find your reading fascinating. I’m so drawn to the contrasts present, aren’t you? The imposing rock formation on the right practically looms over the idyllic valley unfolding behind it. There is a drama but also the allure of the romantic journey into the wild. I can see two figures in the left foreground near the small waterfall, so tiny and perhaps lost in it all. Editor: Absolutely, there's an element of human insignificance being explored here! The lone figures bring forth a stark reminder of humanity's fleeting existence compared to the land's perpetual, evolving story. Look at how Kobell plays with light and shadow—it emphasizes the sheer scale, evoking the Sublime and our relationship to our environments. The sepia palette, reminiscent of old photographs, imbues the work with nostalgia, and colonial or traveler photography, adding a layer of sociohistorical consideration. Curator: I wonder, how aware he was of colonial discourse! Considering that timeframe and landscape conventions in art from that era. Editor: It’s definitely present, regardless of his intention, it highlights our limited agency. This connects it, I believe, to more contemporary understandings of environmental justice and postcolonial ecocriticism—how nature itself is often racialized or subjected to power dynamics. How often have images like this promoted ideas of untamed, empty lands ready for…'civilizing'? Curator: An unsettling interpretation but something valuable in thinking about nature within those contexts and narratives. Editor: Agreed. And thinking of "River Valley, Steep Rocks on the Right," I mean, naming feels so colonial! This isn’t a description of land as a place lived in, only a place looked at! Anyway… it makes you wonder about those narratives layered behind something seemingly gentle and pastoral. Curator: Precisely! What a lens! Thank you. I shall never quite look at this lovely landscape in the same way again!