Gate in the Rocks

Karl Friedrich Schinkel was the foremost Prussian architect, a city planner, and a painter. From 1798 to 1800 he studied architecture under Friedrich Gilly and his father in Berlin. After a journey to Italy, he began work as an independent painter in 1805. He became famous as one of the most prominent German architects and created Neoclassical as well as Neo-Gothic buildings, mainly in Berlin and surrounding towns.

Here Schinkel processed impressions from his first trip to Italy, which took him through Friuli, among other places. From a high, imposing mountain grotto, a deep gorge can be seen. To the right of a crevice in which a bell hangs, a monk is sitting and praying. On a rocky outcrop to the left, fir trees tower into the sky; below, on a narrow path, three hikers are walking with a mule. One of them looks down on a herd of goats grazing below, opposite a peak with a castle and farmhouse. Behind them, in the haze of the evening light, the mountain landscape widens to the horizon. The framing of the composition and the staggering of the pictorial grounds are reminiscent of Schinkel's theater decorations.

We present today's work thanks to the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin.

P.S. What a beautiful view! When we talk about German Romanticism, we immediately think of another great artist of the epoch: Caspar David Friedrich. His work is one of the most popular prints in our DailyArt Shop. If you would like to see more of Friedrich, here are his 10 most famous artworks!