The Watzmann seen from the northeast, with additional sketches of a mountain; verso: sketch of the church of Sankt Bartholomä on the Königsee at the foot of the Watzmann, seen from the east

August Heinrich German

Not on view

Situated near Salzburg, the Watzmann became a beloved subject for German and Austrian artists in the early nineteenth century. Here, by choosing to ignore the space between the Watzmann and the viewer, Heinrich isolated the mountain, one of Germany's highest, as if it were a divine vision. At the same time, he captured the details of the mountain's profile and geological structure. The great German painter Caspar David Friedrich, who never saw the Alps, seems to have used this drawing for one of his most celebrated pictures, The Watzmann (ca. 1824–25; Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin). The two artists knew each other well: Friedrich depicted himself with Heinrich in his Two Men Contemplating the Moon, on view in the Metropolitan's galleries of nineteenth-century painting.

The Watzmann seen from the northeast, with additional sketches of a mountain; verso: sketch of the church of Sankt Bartholomä on the Königsee at the foot of the Watzmann, seen from the east, August Heinrich (German, Dresden 1794–1822 Innsbruck), Watercolor over a sketch in charcoal; verso, graphite. Framing line on the upper, left, and right edges of the recto (possibly by the artist)

Due to rights restrictions, this image cannot be enlarged, viewed at full screen, or downloaded.

Open Access

As part of the Met's Open Access policy, you can freely copy, modify and distribute this image, even for commercial purposes.

API

Public domain data for this object can also be accessed using the Met's Open Access API.

The Watzmann seen from the northeast, with additional sketches of a mountain; verso: sketch of the church of Sankt Bartholomä on the Königsee at the foot of the Watzmann, seen from the east, August Heinrich (German, Dresden 1794–1822 Innsbruck), Watercolor over a sketch in charcoal; verso, graphite. Framing line on the upper, left, and right edges of the recto (possibly by the artist)
The Watzmann seen from the northeast, with additional sketches of a mountain; verso: sketch of the church of Sankt Bartholomä on the Königsee at the foot of the Watzmann, seen from the east, August Heinrich (German, Dresden 1794–1822 Innsbruck), Watercolor over a sketch in charcoal; verso, graphite. Framing line on the upper, left, and right edges of the recto (possibly by the artist)

This artwork is meant to be viewed from right to left. Scroll left to view more.