Landscape with Deer at Sunset, 1847

About the Work

Too beautiful to be true: a pair of grazing deer, and behind them, a glowing evening sky whose colours are reflected in the quiet waters of a lake, lending the entire scene a magical atmosphere. Sunsets like this were the trademark of the Munich painter Anton Zwengauer. He had studied in his home town under the Nazarene artist Peter von Cornelius, but remains largely forgotten today. Drawn to the Romantic landscape tradition, Zwengauer superelevated nature, making it an object of reverence. This depiction looks strangely modern, almost like a model for a kitschy postcard.