3003 - CASPAR WOLF

CASPAR WOLF (Muri 1735–1783 Heidelberg) The Great Panorama of the Alps and Glaciers. 1774–77. Oil on canvas. 54.5 × 82.5 cm. Provenance: - Keukenhof, Lisse. - Collection of Dr. Hans Lacher, Blonay. - Thence by descent in the family. Exhibited: - Lenzburg 1961, Caspar Wolf 1735–1783. The Painter of the Alps, Galerie Rathausgasse, March 18–April 16, 1961, no. 11. - Tokyo and Chur 1977, The Alps in Swiss Painting, Odakyn Grand Gallery, March 23–April 19, 1977; Bündner Kunstmuseum, June 5–August 21, 1977, no. 13. Bibliography: - Exhibition catalog *The Alps in Swiss Painting*, Tokyo and Chur 1977, p. 65 (ill. 5 and 14). - Willi Raeber: Caspar Wolf 1735–1783. His Life and Work, Zurich and Aarau 1979, p. 243, no. 248 (ill.). Caspar Wolf was one of the great pioneers of European Alpine painting. During the 18th century, perceptions of the high mountains underwent a fundamental transformation. In the late Baroque period, the Swiss Alps were still regarded as an inaccessible, terrifying place, supposedly haunted by the dreaded “Draco Helveticus.” The Bernese polymath Albrecht von Haller played a decisive role in changing this view with his poem “Die Alpen,” published in 1732, in which he celebrated the mountains as an earthly paradise and a refuge of freedom. Influenced by this new understanding of nature, Wolf was among the first artists to devote himself intensively to depicting the high Alpine landscape. Beginning in 1773, he made repeated journeys into the Swiss Alps on behalf of the Bernese publisher Abraham Wagner, studying glaciers, rock formations, and waterfalls directly from nature. These observations formed the basis of a distinctive approach to landscape painting, combining faithful observation with carefully constructed compositions. This artistic freedom is particularly evident in “Das grosse Panorama der Alpen und Gletscher.” Wolf brings together geographically distant sites in an idealized Alpine landscape. On the left are the Devil’s Bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge and the mighty Grindelwald Glacier; on the right, the cliffs of the Lauterbrunnen Valley and the Staubbach Falls frame the composition. Between them rise monumental mountain ranges, some covered in snow, whose rugged contours and precipitous rock faces heighten the drama of the scene. These individual features are united in an impressive panorama that does not correspond to their actual geographical positions. In the foreground, small groups of travelers, artists, and naturalists have gathered to explore the vast landscape. Their diminutive figures emphasize the scale of the mountains, while they themselves seem like spectators at a magnificent spectacle of nature. The idea of the Alps as a spectacle is also reflected in the title of the color engraving “Le Grand Théâtre des Alpes et Glaciers,” produced by Jean-François Janinet based on this painting. The print served as the prestigious opening plate of the series “Vues remarquables des montagnes de la Suisse.” A preparatory watercolor drawing for the composition is now held by the Zentralbibliothek Zürich. * The full tax is charged on this item marked *; that is, VAT is charged on the total amount but will be refunded to purchasers who provide a validly stamped export declaration.