104 - M. SAVIGNY (1831-1905), Ruins of a Gothic monastery, 1844, Pencil

M. SAVIGNY (1831-1905), Ruins of a Gothic monastery, 1844, Pencil Marie von Savigny (1831 Boitzenburg - 1905 ): Ruins of a Gothic monastery complex, 1844, Pencil Technique: Washed Pencil on Paper Inscription: Dated in pencil lower right: "August 44" Date: 1844 Description: Freda Sophie Karoline Marie von Savigny, née Countess von Arnim (1831 Boitzenburg - 1905) is known to us as the wife of the Prussian envoy and co-founder of the Centre Party, Karl Friedrich von Savigny (1814-1875). As such, she accompanied her husband on diplomatic trips and had to take on numerous representative duties and attend social events herself. The artist and viewer look through a brick archway into the courtyard of an old monastery complex. The abbey buildings and vaults have collapsed and are lushly overgrown with plants. There is nothing left to remind us of life in this once splendid monastery. The framing of the archway makes the scene resemble a painting and gives the impression of a distant silence. Only the flock of birds flying up from the high gable of the building manages to bring life to this depiction. Startled by the soft cracking of a branch or chased away by a careless word from the mouth of the artist, who visited this place in 1844, the birds fly up and break the tense atmosphere of the still life. Keywords: 19th century, Romanticism, Architecture, Germany, Size: Paper: 24,1 cm x 17,8 cm (9,5 x 7 in) Condition: Good condition. In good condition for its age with minimal signs of wear.