The notion of the Alps as a magnificent natural spec-tacle is surprisingly recent. It was not until the eigh-teenth century that its craggy mountain ridges began to be seen as "sublime" and beautiful. The Swiss landscape painter Caspar Wolf (1735-1783) was one of the first to discover the then largely unexplored world of the Alps as a subject of art through his ex-tended forays into the mountains. Trained in south-ern Germany and Paris, Wolf was commissioned to produce a comprehensive series on the Swiss Alps, which he ...
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The notion of the Alps as a magnificent natural spec-tacle is surprisingly recent. It was not until the eigh-teenth century that its craggy mountain ridges began to be seen as "sublime" and beautiful. The Swiss landscape painter Caspar Wolf (1735-1783) was one of the first to discover the then largely unexplored world of the Alps as a subject of art through his ex-tended forays into the mountains. Trained in south-ern Germany and Paris, Wolf was commissioned to produce a comprehensive series on the Swiss Alps, which he completed between 1773 and 1779. Working in his studio, the artist created some 180 imposing paintings from nature studies done outdoors. The publication demonstrates how he conveyed what he had seen according to his aesthetic criteria. In his dra-matic compositions, paths are blocked by immense boulders, roaring streams of water, and glaciers, or the view opens up to reveal giant panoramas, which are observed by tiny, awestruck human figures. (English edition ISBN 978-3-7757-3833-0) Ausstellung/Exhibition: Kunstmuseum Basel 19.10.2014-1.2.2015
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Add this copy of Caspar Wolf and the Aesthetic Conquest of Nature to cart. $49.00, very good condition, Sold by Mullen Books, Inc. ABAA / ILAB rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Marietta, PA, UNITED STATES, published 2014 by Hatje Cantz.
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Seller's Description:
Very Good. Grerman language text. Color illustrated boards. 231 pages: illustrations (chiefly color), map, portrait. Contents: Machine generated contents note: Caspar Wolf 1735--1783 / Bodo Brinkmann--Essays--At the Crossroads to Arcadia: Johann Wolfgang Goethe without Caspar Wolf / Andreas Beyer--"The inner parts of his great outlines many find too empty." Form and Emptiness in the Landscapes of Caspar Wol / Viktoria von der Bruggen--Seeing the Alps: On the Trail of Caspar Wolf / Gilles Monney--Willi Raeber and the Rediscovery of Caspar Wolf / Bodo Brinkmann--Catalogue / Katharina Georgi--Beginnings in Muri--Intermezzo in Basel--Inspiration in Paris--Back in Muri--The Aesthetic Conquest of Nature--The Alpine Project: Merkwurdige Prospekte aus den Schweizer-Geburgen and the "Wagner Cabinet"--Pairs of Opposites--The Panoramic Gaze--The Closed Landscape--Geodetic Features--Extreme Weather Conditions--Exploring Glaciers--Waterfalls: An Element in a State of Flux--A Human Presence in the Mountains--Man-Made Structures--Bridging Gaps--Caves Inside and Out--Ideals and Idylls.
