ROTTMANN, Carl
(b. 1797, Handschuhsheim, d. 1850, München)

Marathon

1848
Encaustic on stone, 157 x 200 cm
Neue Pinakothek, Munich

Rottmann succeeded in creating a new vision out of the sobering reality. The historic site in Greece that continued to blossom in the humanist imaginations were stony, the landscapes eroded and bare. He transmitted the heroism of the sagas to the topography, which itself now became the active hero. He showed the earth formation in a struggle against cosmic forces; he intensifies his subject, taking it into the realm of the fantastic. The painting Marathon can be seen as the ultimate expression of the heroic landscape.