Motifs compared between then and now
The painters came to the Harz Mountains from all directions. They were drawn by the silhouette of this highest mountain range rising from the North German Plain. Even today, your eyes are first drawn to the mountains. Because in the Harz, the weather is born.
The Harz has been a painters’ landscape for centuries, and one of the most magnificent in Germany — though far too few people know that. From the late 18th century onwards, artists came here in increasing numbers. Most of them travelled on foot; only a few could afford a carriage. Maybe we today should also leave our cars behind and explore the Harz on foot. That way we’ll feel the rhythm of the painters of the past, see more, and experience unexpected adventures along the way. Discovering means, as in the well-known game: I spy with my little eye something I’ve never seen before.
Several centuries usually separate us from the painters’ old views. When hiking, we can leap across time.