Landscape with Tobias and the angel

German art in the late 16th and 17th centuries was significantly influenced by tendencies from Italy. Among the most prominent representatives of this phenomenon in the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe are Johann König (1586-1642), Johann Liss (1597-1629/30) and Johann Heinrich Schönfeld (1609-1682/83). They all travelled and worked in Italy, where they received vital stimulation for their work. Johann König, born in Nuremberg, was in Rome from 1610 until 1613.

There, he encountered the art of the recently deceased Adam Elsheimer (1578-1610). This influence resonates in his "Landscape with Tobias and the Angel" (C. 1610/1630), which is beautifully painted on a small copper plate.

The miniature-like precision of this meticulous painting won great admiration among contemporaries. Successive generations often mistook König's work for that of the master who, to- gether with Rubens and Caravaggio, had introduced a new epoch of painting. This can also be seen in the fact that the name "Elsheimer" was subsequently falsely signed next to that of König on the work in the Staatliche Kunsthalle.

As religious staffage, Tobias and his guardian angels enter the scene from the right. Under his right arm, Tobias carries a fish caught in the Tigris, whose gall bladder he will use to heal his blind father. The artist gave much greater attention to the representation of the landscape in his painting than to the biblical story. The sun hangs low in the sky, casting its light on the park-like scenery, its rays set the town in the valley aglow. Portraying light and shadow, the artist unfurls a richly varied palette, whose luminosity is increased by the copper plate on which the image is painted, achieving unusual brilliance.