Felsbrocken an einer grasbewachsenen Uferböschung 

Franz Kobell made this drawing, "Felsbrocken an einer grasbewachsenen Uferböschung," using pen and grey ink, probably in Germany towards the end of the eighteenth century. It shows some rocks on a grassy embankment. The picturesque style, focusing on seemingly wild, uncultivated nature, was becoming fashionable at this time. But there was a political dimension to this choice of subject. The emphasis on naturalness and simplicity can be seen as a reaction to the formality of court culture and the rigid social hierarchies of the time. Artists like Kobell were subtly promoting a new set of values. By turning to social and economic histories of Germany, we can understand the rising merchant classes, as well as the art institutions and patronage networks that shaped the artist's career. The turn to nature can be understood as a progressive social statement, but it still speaks to the elite.