Lot 1504 Dα

This small, fine painting shows a round, temple-like structure upon a hill in a rugged, mountainous landscape beneath the light of the full moon. The area around the temple is guarded by a ring of stakes driven into the ground at an angle, and below it we see small huts, perhaps depicting an ancient settlement. The style, colouring and Romantic gravity of the work, as well as the temple's apparently deliberate similarity to the Frauenkirche in Dresden suggest an origin in this city in the circle of Carl Gustav Carus and Caspar David Friedrich. We would like to thank Prof. Helmut Börsch-Supan (Berlin) for his information regarding this piece after seeing it in person.