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This depiction of the ruins of a Gothic church, abounding in Romantic symbols of death and hope, is the last dated work by Carl Gustav Carus. With his own death already on the horizon – Carus died on 28 July 1869 – he dedicated the large-format piece to his son Albert, on his 52nd birthday. The drawing is representative of the focus of the collection by the Wettin prince Johann Georg, which largely consisted in examples of German Romanticism.

Not all the acquisitions for Linz were from expropriated Jewish collections or other lots seized as a result of Nazi persecution. It was not uncommon for the works to be acquired lawfully on Europe’s art markets. The purchase of Johann Georg’s collection, including this drawing, is one such example. Today, the Kupferstich-Kabinett contains roughly 1,400 drawings and sketchbooks from this acquisition.