Fog in the Valley of Zelená Mountain near Nepomuk

Around 1830, Antonín Mánes began changing his perception of landscape painting, shifting towards a greater personal commitment. Appearing in his works afterwards is a shift in the colour and form of natural elements in the landscape and realistic views with aerial perspective. In the spirit of Mácha and German Romanticism, Mánes filled his sketchbooks with visual recordings and impressions from his travels through the Bohemian countryside, in context with Czech history. He travelled in summer, depending on the invitations from his aristocratic patrons. Such was the case in August 1831, when the artist was visiting with the Colloredo−Mansfeld family at Zelená hora near Nepomuk. Mánes combined a preliminary sketch superbly painted in watercolours with a personal reflection and lyrical impact. The copiously used green colour (Mánes often employed a special pigment called Paris – or Mitis – green) can be regarded as a symbol of nature and a quest for truth and human substance.