Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld
(1788-1853)
Der Erlkönig,
um 1830/35
Material / Technology / Carrier
Öl auf Leinwand
Dimensions of the object
52,2 x 65,8 cm
Displayed
Sammlung Schack Saal 4
Acquisition
1874 durch Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack erworben
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München
Citation
Ludwig Ferdinand Schnorr von Carolsfeld, Der Erlkönig, um 1830/35, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/0vxoW7Kx2V (Last updated on 19.06.2023)
Goethe based his poem ‘Erlkönig’ on a Danish folk ballad about the king of the elves and his daughters, which had been translated into German by Johann Gottfried Herder as ‘Erlking’s Daughters’. The ballad’s proto-Romantic content is rooted in popular notions of the supernatural. Schnorr uses gestures to convey the threat inherent in the story, whereas Schwind bathes the scene in a pale half-light and emphasises the demonic aspect. In places, the outlines Schwind drew with rapid, flickering strokes of the pen show through the thin, loosely applied paint.
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