ROTTMANN, Carl
(b. 1798, Handschuhsheim, d. 1850, München)

Cefalu

1830
Oil on canvas, 63 x 79 cm
Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Cologne

Carl Rottmann, who was a specialist in landscape, was also drawn to the South, like other artists of his day. Although he did not settle there, he studied the scenery of Italy and Greece on extended visits. He produced in 1830, as a study for a fresco of the Arcadian Fields in the Hofgarten in Munich, the Museum's view of the rock of Cefalu in northern Sicily. Rottmann's paintings are topographical. He wanted to depict accurately an existing geographical situation. Equally important to him was the place's historical significance.