Crusader's Guard in the Desert, 1834/35
Pen in dark grey, watercolour, over pencil, red chalk
About the workKarl Friedrich Lessing was a founding member of the Düsseldorf School of Painting in 1826. He used historical events as subjects for his paintings, but also drew from contemporary Romantic literature. He based this scene on studies from the Eifel. The rough rock and adverse weather emphasise the loneliness of the old knight. The influential Lessing had already explored the crusaders as a theme in 1831, when he had been commissioned to create a fresco with a motif from the life of Emperor Frederick Barbarossa for Heltorf Castle near Angermund.
AccessionAcquisition 1921
Provenance[...]; November 1921 angekauft vom Antiquariat Emil Hirsch, München, Auktion "Sammlung Sayn-Wittgenstein"
Inventory numberK 1921-268
