The Waterfalls at Terni

Hackert's output shows how his landscapes, which initially suggest the Baroque, become increasingly "classical". However, unlike other contemporaries, who dismissed him in contempt as a "veduta painter" and probably also because he made no secret of his commercial success, Hackert remained faithful to topographic accuracy in his landscapes. This greatly appealed to his buyers who wanted to take their experience of Italy home with them. Nevertheless, The Waterfalls at Terni shows that Hackert could master the heroic landscape, too. The relative sizes of the rocks and trees and the depth of perspective are skillfully blurred so that the waterfall, however large it may be in reality, looks imposing. Paintings like this set a new focus in Neoclassical and Romantic painting in Germany: what we call "'heroic" and later "sentimental" landscape painting.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 28 minutes): George Frideric Handel: Water Music, Suite No. 1