Two Intertwined Oak Trees
c. 1800
Medium
black chalk with brown wash on laid paper
Dimensions
sheet: 35.6 × 25.9 cm (14 × 10 3/16 in.)
Classification
Drawing
Department
CG-E
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Ailsa Mellon Bruce Fund
Accession Number
2014.110.1
Art Historical Context
In the National Gallery of Art's collection, Johann Christian Reinhart's *Two Intertwined Oak Trees* (c. 1800) captures the majestic vitality of nature through delicate black chalk lines enhanced by subtle brown wash on laid paper. Measuring 35.6 × 25.9 cm, this intimate drawing showcases Reinhart's mastery as a German Romantic landscape artist who spent much of his career in Italy, drawing inspiration from classical masters like Claude Lorrain. Created during the transitional era between Neoclassicism and emerging Romanticism, the work reflects a growing fascination with nature's raw power a...
About the Artist
Johann Christian Reinhart · 1761–1847
Johann Christian Reinhart (1761–1847) was a German painter and engraver who became one of the founding figures of German Romantic classical landscape painting, spending nearly six decades in Rome and transforming his adopted city into an inexhaustible subject. Born in Hof, Bavaria, on 24 January 1761, Reinhart initially followed his father into theological study before his passion for drawing took...