Schwind's painting was prompted by an anthology of German songs and poems compiled by Achim von Arnim and Clemens Brentano and published in 1806¿08 in three beautifully produced volumes entitled Des Knaben Wunderhorn (The Boy¿s Magic Horn). This striking image of a young man blowing his horn beneath an oak tree has acquired exactly the kind of popular appeal that Schwind desired for his art.