Wilhelm Brücke studied at the Berlin Art Academy with, among others, Johann Erdmann Hummel, who is particularly well known for his daring perspectives and geometric spatial constructions. After completing his studies, he made the journey to Italy obligatory for young artists from 1829 to 1834 - especially for those interested in landscape painting – and returned in 1839-40. Under the influence of the panorama painting introduced in Berlin by Karl Wilhelm Gropius, he specialized early on architectural views and, alongside Eduard Gaertner, became a valued and important representative of this genre. In the 1830s and 40s, he mainly made Berlin cityscapes, which, like Gaertner, accompanied the redesign of the city center, promoted by Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia. After the death of the king, the attention shifted from the main city motifs to landscapes characterized by a late romantic atmosphere, often with impressive topographical accuracy. Brücke's landscapes are characterized by his excellent command of the perspective, in which he opens the pictorial space wide and leads it into depth. His scenes are suffused with a warm, evening light that adds the characteristic reddish undertone to the coloring. [KT]