Rocky landscape 

Editor: So here we have "Rocky Landscape" by Franz Kobell, an ink drawing. It feels… untamed. What strikes you most about this piece? Curator: It’s all about texture, isn't it? Kobell has created a palpable sense of rough, jagged rock faces using nothing but ink and paper. The drawing itself becomes a metaphor for the unyielding character of nature. Look at how the light catches those crests and crevices. You almost feel you could chip off a piece of the Städel yourself, like you’re meant to! Editor: That's a beautiful idea! The way the ink is layered really does give it depth. Were landscape drawings like this common at the time? Curator: Landscape as a genre was really hitting its stride, absolutely. But Kobell... there's something about his line work. See how restless it is? There's a nervous energy, even. He wasn't just depicting a scene; he was wrestling with it, grappling with its essence. What is it about this nervous energy you are connecting with? Editor: Maybe it's the contrast. The subject is so solid, so enduring, but the execution feels almost frantic. It makes me think about the power of nature, both its permanence and its capacity for sudden, violent change. Curator: Yes, exactly! It’s a dance between observation and feeling. A true Romantic spirit searching to know what they could chip away, from themselves and nature itself. He’s finding his place in the immensity, you know? And inviting us to do the same. Editor: That’s given me a totally different way of seeing it. Thanks! Curator: My pleasure. Maybe now you’ll go wrestle with nature yourself? In ink, perhaps?