Moritz von Schwind
(1804-1871)
Der Vater Rhein, die Fidel Volkers spielend,
um 1865
Material / Technology / Carrier
Öl auf Leinwand
Dimensions of the object
33,6 x 63,7 cm
Displayed
Sammlung Schack Saal 5
Acquisition
1869 durch Adolf Friedrich Graf von Schack erworben
Stock
Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München
Citation
Moritz von Schwind, Der Vater Rhein, die Fidel Volkers spielend, um 1865, Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen - Sammlung Schack München, URL: https://www.sammlung.pinakothek.de/en/artwork/2mxqDPz48b (Last updated on 19.06.2023)
The Rhine became a national symbol for Germans during the Napoleonic wars and the period leading up to the revolutions of 1848. As the setting of legends and myths from Germany¿s distant past, and as the subject of Romantic poetry, it played an important part in establishing a sense of national identity. Schwind¿s personification of the Rhine as a bearded man in armour takes its cue from traditional depictions of river gods. The fiddle alludes to Volker, who in the Nibelung saga was a musician at the Burgundian court in Worms.
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