About the Work
Friedrich Metz drew mainly trees in this small, paperback sketchbook, now and then also bushes, plants and clouds, which he sketched quickly, often on a double page. For his drawings, he used pencils of varying degrees of hardness as well as a black, sharpened crayon, which moved particularly easy across the paper. Although Metz provided several of his studies with dates and the recurring designation of September and occasionally October, he did not note a year anywhere in the book. Therefore, only the drawings themselves provide an indication of the time of origin: the energetic, comparatively angular stroke that is characteristic of these sketches is particularly evident in the drawings of the later books from around the mid-1850s onwards (see e.g. Inv. SG 2764 or SG 2767, Städel Museum). The designation “Salerno” below the four small studies of coupled windows (sheet 7 verso) also suggests that Metz used the book, at least in part, in Italy. Stylistically, the artist’s travels to Italy in the late 1840s and early 1850s are thus ruled out. It is more likely that Metz used the sketchbook during his last trip to Italy in summer 1876, when he visited Salerno, and then continued towards Germany.
For a full sketchbook description, please see “Research”.
