Rheinblick I

More information about the history

View of the Rhine from the Drachenfels, Nikolaus Christian Hohe (?), around 1850, Siebengebirgsmuseum / town of Königswinter

The painting, attributed to Nikolaus Christian Hohe, was created around 1850 and shows the Rhine Valley from an unusual perspective. It provides a detailed portrayal of the special structural and transportation-related features of the landscape at this time. We cast our eyes beyond the Rhine and the residence of the Deichmann family. The Rhine is shown to us as a (goods) transportation route – as reflected by an enormous raft, a ferry and several sailing boats. Near Godesburg castle, the artist even allowed a steam train to race through the Rhine plain; however in actual fact, the route between Rolandseck and Bonn was only completed in 1856.

Image: “Rolandseck, Nonnenwerth and Drachenfels”, Turner 1817

William Turner was the most famous of the English landscape painters on the Rhine. In 1817, just one year after Lord Byron’s trip, Turner – travelling in Byron’s footsteps – recorded his impressions in rough pencil sketches, which resulted in a series of 51 small-format Rhine views in watercolours and gouache. As was customary for Turner, he consciously used the colours in the foreground to intensify the atmospheric effect, whereas the background remains veiled in haze.

Image: “Rhine landscape with Drachenfels castle”, Bamberger, 1845

Some German Romantic movement artists – such as the painter Fritz Bamberger – elevated the subjects provided by nature into something dramatic and magical. In his painting “Rhine landscape with the Drachenfels castle” from 1845, he used the effects of the contrast between light and dark to create a powerful, dramatic prevailing mood which particularly accentuated the ephemeral nature of the ruins.

Image: “Ice on the Rhine”, Carl Hilgers, 1850

The Düsseldorf painter Carl Hilgers was a master at capturing dramatic occasions. In his painting “Ice on the Rhine with the Drachenfels” from 1850, he relegates the silhouette of the Drachenfels further into the background in order to be able to accentuate the white of the snow and the mightiness of the ice floes more effectively.

Image: “The Drachenfels”, C. J. N. Scheuren, 1852

Of the landscape painters from the nearby Düsseldorf Academy of Art, it was above all Caspar Johann Nepomuk Scheuren who intensively explored the theme of the Siebengebirge. In the oil painting “The Drachenfels” (1852), he created a dramatic backdrop for the outlines of the hill and the castle ruins by means of sunlight illuminating the scene from the side. A small rowing boat floats gently down the Rhine and its diminutiveness further accentuates the awesome effect of the Drachenfels.

Practical information

Visit the Siebengebirgsmuseum with its collection of Romantic movement landscape paintings:
Siebengebirgsmuseum Königswinter, Kellerstraße 16
Tue–Fri 2 PM–5 PM, Sat 2 PM–6 PM, Sun 11 AM–6 PM Mondays closed > Website
The “RheinRomantik” collection [Romanticism and the Rhine] in Bonn is one of the most important collections portraying the history and development of 19th century Romantic movement paintings in Germany. Frequently changing examples from the collection are displayed in the Siebengebirgsmuseum. The collection’s paintings can also be viewed online.
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