Sandstone Rocks with Trees near Hrubá Skála

Josef Mánes first visited Hrubá Skála in 1859, when he met Baron Anton Aerenthal, the owner of the local chateau. Later, Hrubá Skála became one of his favourite havens and in the 1860s he returned to the region on various occasions. He was especially captivated by the huge sandstone rock formations which he drew in small sketches and worked−up studies. The watercolour in the National Gallery’s collections is regarded as a study for or a companion piece to the drawing Path among Sandstone Rocks, now in a private collection. These works are dated to Mánes’s last trip to Hrubá Skála in 1867–1868.