Beyond Space and Time
Marion Hoffmann, 2021 for the catalog published on the occasion of the solo exhibition at Wichtendahl Galerie
A fascination with sublimity, purity and immutability or even reverence for their inaccessibility–the sight of lofty mountain peaks evokes strong feelings in every observer. This fascination is not only expressed by their veneration as “holy mountains”, from the Bussen in Upper Swabia to Mount Kailash in Tibet. There is also an impulse to domesticate their wildness. Alexander von Humboldt succumbed to this impulse as early as 1802, when he measured, explored and attempted to climb the 6000-metre-high Ecuadorian volcano Chimborazo. Throughout history, this fascination with untouched mountain landscapes has also been reflected in painting, whether those aiming to portray their wild sublimity, as in “heroic landscapes” from the 17th century onwards, or from a devotional aspect, as in 19th-century Romanticism.
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