Church Ruin in Winter, 1848

About the Work

Silence. The onlooker’s gaze is guided towards the light through a rounded arch. Snow reflects the sun, which casts a dim light onto the church ruin. The atmospheric mise-en-scène appeals to the viewer’s curiosity to find out what is going on. Set in a wintry landscape with a dead tree, the derelict building with its Gothic and Romanic architectural elements is reminiscent of motifs typical for the Dresden Romantics around Caspar David Friedrich. The minute handling of paint shows the influence of Carl Friedrich Lessing, the head of the Düsseldorf School, whom Hasenpflug had met in the 1830s.