Karl Adloff - View of Koblenz from the Rhine towards the Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, 1855
Normaler Preis 48 824 krKarl Adloff (1819–1863) German
View of Koblenz from the Rhine towards the Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein, 1855
oil on canvas
signed and dated
unframed: 27.5 × 43.5 cm (10.8 × 17.1 inches)
framed: 44 × 59 cm (17.3 × 23.2 inches)
Provenance:
A private Swedish collection
Essay:
Karl Adloff’s View of Koblenz from the Rhine towards the Fortress of Ehrenbreitstein (1855) is a luminous and atmospheric river scene that draws the viewer into a moment of stillness and beauty along the Rhine. The composition is expansive yet intimate: the sandy shoreline curves into the foreground, leading the eye across calm waters where river barges and small figures animate the surface, before resting on the imposing silhouette of Ehrenbreitstein Fortress rising on the opposite bank.
Painted with extraordinary attention to light and reflection, the canvas captures the delicate interplay between architecture, nature, and human presence. The soft glow of the afternoon sky, mirrored in the river below, evokes a sense of quiet dignity and historical weight. Adloff’s sensitive brushwork and eye for detail make this more than just a topographical view—it becomes a poetic meditation on place and time.
Ehrenbreitstein Fortress, visible in the distance on the right, stands as a powerful reminder of the region’s strategic importance. With origins dating back to around the year 1000, the present fortress was reconstructed by the Prussians between 1817 and 1834 as part of an ambitious defensive system. Perched high above Koblenz, it was never attacked and remained in military use until 1890. In Adloff’s rendering, the fortress looms peacefully over a thriving river life, its military presence softened by the golden light and the painter’s romantic sensibility.
Karl Adloff was a prominent representative of the Düsseldorf School of painting, celebrated for his cityscapes, coastal views, and architectural subjects. His precision in rendering built environments is matched by a masterful handling of atmosphere and natural light. In this painting, one senses both Adloff’s observational skill and his deep emotional response to the landscape.
Notably, a larger and more formal version of this same view, painted in 1856, was acquired by Queen Victoria and Prince Albert and today belongs to The Royal Collection Trust. That work is currently on long-term loan to the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and was first recorded at Osborne House in 1876. The present painting, dated a year earlier, may well have served as the modello or plein-air study from which the royal version was developed. With its freer brushwork and naturalistic light, it possesses a spontaneity and freshness that lends it a unique appeal.
This particular painting has recently been restored by a professional art conservator in Stockholm. It is in very good condition, with expected age-related craquelure and surface wear.
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