Mountain landscape with trees 

Editor: We’re looking at "Mountain Landscape with Trees," a pen and ink drawing by Franz Kobell. The piece is currently housed at the Städel Museum. I’m struck by how this detailed landscape feels both meticulous and freely observed from nature. What are your thoughts on it? Curator: It's intriguing to consider this piece through a materialist lens, particularly thinking about the Romantic era's relationship with nature and labor. How was ink readily available, and what were the socio-economic conditions that fostered landscape drawings 'en plein air'? Editor: That’s interesting; I hadn't considered the accessibility of materials. Curator: Exactly. Pen and ink weren't exclusive to high art. This landscape tradition is rooted in a specific kind of engagement with natural resources – trees turned to paper and gall ink. Notice also the marks and scratches – signs of a certain kind of production. It wasn't pristine, idealized nature, but something recorded with a readily available, almost utilitarian technology. How do you think that process affected the perception of nature itself? Editor: I guess I had imagined the artist just being out in nature. Now, considering the cost and preparation of the ink and paper adds another layer, connecting it more to industry. Does this potentially challenge our notions of Romanticism's emphasis on nature? Curator: Precisely! By focusing on the production and distribution of materials, we reveal how the appreciation of the natural world could be mediated by burgeoning industries and new forms of accessibility. The artist becomes a conduit but also an interpreter shaped by specific conditions. Editor: So, seeing it this way makes me reconsider what ‘romantic’ really means. I learned something today! Curator: Me too. Thinking about Kobell's era also shapes how we think of contemporary engagements with land, art and the role of production in defining artistic value and labor!