Fritz von Uhde didn't paint many landscapes. Remember, he is thought of as a genre painter, that is an artist who depicts ordinary people in the ordinary events of their days. There are no people seen in this painting, though their presence is indicated by the church tower and some nearby houses and managed fields. This painting isn't dated. I'm wondering if it is a later painting when the artist might have been experimenting with impressionist ideas and techniques.
I like how Fritz von Uhde has us standing just this side of a few young trees. Perhaps the lake is behind us. First he takes us across a little berm or rise, then to a tree-d edge, then to the cluster of buildings, then beyond to the fields bordered with trees, then to the mountain which is fog covered with either snow or clouds at the top. It is a wonderful painting — quiet-ing, restful and inviting.
Here is a photograph of the Church of St. Lawrence on Lake Tegernsee today. Nothing much has changed. This church which holds about 800 people was built in 1466 and originally staffed by monks. An interesting feature of the building is that windows were placed only on the south side. During the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) the parish placed itself under the patronage of the Mother of God, asking to be spared from enemy attack and destructive weather. The church and village were indeed spared, even through both world wars. Pilgrimages of thanksgiving continue to today.
