Cottages in a Rocky Landscape 1500 - 1600

Wolfgang Huber created this drawing, Cottages in a Rocky Landscape, with pen and black ink in the first half of the 16th century. Huber’s evocative landscape presents us with the question of how the natural world was being re-evaluated in the Northern Renaissance. The scene invites us to consider the place of humanity within the natural world. The cottages nestle amidst a rough landscape, but are nevertheless integrated into it. Produced in a region still deeply influenced by religious thought, the drawing suggests a world where humanity must find harmony with nature in order to survive. Huber was working at a time when the old certainties of religious dogma were beginning to be challenged, and we might consider how this landscape reflects an emerging desire to understand the world through direct observation. By studying the cultural history of 16th-century Europe, we can appreciate the complex interplay between art, religion, and the emerging scientific worldview.