Der stille Grund
The Quiet Ground
Foto: Kunstpalast - LVR-ZMB - Annette Hiller

The Quiet Ground, 1851

Series titleDüsseldorfer Lieder-Album (Song Album): 6 Songs with Pianoforte Accompaniment
ArtistOswald Achenbach, Düsseldorf 1827–1905 Düsseldorf
AuthorJoseph von Eichendorff, Lubowitz 1788–1857 Neiße
Komponist*inFerdinand von Hiller, Frankfurt <Main> 1811–1885 Köln
Publishing houseArnz & Co., 1816–1859
Chromolithograph
Sheet dimensions36,5 × 49 cm
Status
on display, room 009.1
About the work
Joseph von Eichendorff first published his poem "Der stille Grund" (The Quiet Ground) in 1837. It was based on the German legend of the Loreley, the mermaid who, sitting on a rock on the Rhine, lures boatmen to their deaths with her song. Eichendorff's Loreley, on the other hand, bewitches the first-person narrator in the forest under a full moon. He is only able to escape his fate thanks to the sound of the "morning bells". Oswald Achenbach's illustration shows this setting. The romance was first set to music for the album by Friedrich Hiller, who enjoyed great fame as the city music director of Cologne.
AccessionAcquisition 1919
ProvenanceBürmann Collection
Inventory number80505183c
de