Returning Home before the Storm, 1845

Genre scenes in an impressive Alpine setting are among the preferred themes of Friedrich Gauermann (1807–1862). In the oil painting Returning Home before the Storm, which boasts a carefully planned composition, the Biedermeier painter conveys an image of nature with gripping dramatics, based on nature studies and yet representing an ideal world of naive charm. An Alpine lodge with spruces and rocks looming dramatically in the background takes up the left half of the picture. A woman is opening the stable door and the farmers are herding their animals into the stable, where they will find refuge. The atmospheric phenomena of the storm clouds are convincingly captured in finely differentiated shades. Clouds contrasting with each other are traveling in concentric circles, opening only in the center of the picture, above the top of the great gnarly spruce. Sunshine breaks through and illuminates the area in front of the hut and the white horse, which thus becomes the main motif.

AGW, 2022