Fairy Dance in the Alder Grove, 1844

About the Work

"They do not want to praise and they dare not complain - and they can all ..." - these bitter words about the Frankfurt art public were uttered by Moritz von Schwind, shortly before he turned his back on the city in disappointment in 1847, having spent three years there, and followed Ludwig I's summons to Munich. The Städel had purchased this atmospheric, poetic "Fairy Dance" right at the beginning of his time in Frankfurt. Led by their queen, the beautiful, mysterious woodland beings hover in a graceful round dance around the group of alder trees. The painting is a typical example of von Schwind's nature poetry. Together with Carl Spitzweg, he was the most important late Romantic artist in Germany.