Gezicht op een dal nabij Emmetten 1860 - 1900

This is Heinrich Zollinger's rendering of a valley near Emmetten. Look at how Zollinger captures the mountain—a symbol of nature's grandeur. The mountain is a symbol across cultures, often representing stability and challenge. We can see the mountain in, for instance, Chinese landscape paintings, where it is used to signify the harmony between man and nature. The mountain motif also appears in the writings of Petrarch, who climbed Mont Ventoux, but thought of it as an ascent towards moral and spiritual purity. And yet, the mountain range here is not sublime, but part of an idyllic landscape. This scene evokes a sense of longing for a simpler, more natural existence, an emotion deeply rooted in the collective psyche. It's a cyclical return to the source of life, echoing through time and culture, each age imbuing it with new meaning.