Inspiring landscapes in Germany

Worpswede is located not far from Bremen, in the middle of the Teufelsmoor (Devil's Moor), a harsh landscape with its own unconventional beauty. The place became known because of an artists' colony which was founded here in 1889. In search of rural motifs and simple peasant life, Art Deco painters, Impressionists and Expressionists found an artistic home in Worpswede.

A representative cross-section of the best works by Worpwede artists is on display at the Barkenhoff. This farm was once the central meeting point for the artistic community, which beyond their art, also experimented with more liberal and alternative lifestyles. The artists included Paula Modersohn-Becker, Fritz Overbeck or Carl Vinnen, among others.

Painters first discovered this mountain range to the south-west of Dresden in the 18th century. In their paintings, they captured the bizarre rock formations, the deep gorges and the plains with their enormous table mountains. These painters were followed by Europe's avant-garde art scene, who ensured that Saxon Switzerland would always be a sought-after destination for romantics.

In 1786, Swiss artist Adrian Zingg immortalized the Elbe Sandstone Mountains with this striking depiction of a rock arch. The artist was a pioneer of the Dresden Romantics. His painting incorporates great detail and Romantic transfiguration. The location in the picture is called Kuhstall and is today part of the painter's route, making the artistic heritage of this area accessible.

Caspar David Friedrich, one of the most important and influential artists of German Early Romanticism, grew up on the Baltic coast. As a young man, he was already fascinated by the landscapes of his home. Time and again the artist was drawn back to the island of Rügen with its bright white chalk cliffs. Rügen is Germany's biggest island and parts of the landscape are a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The coastline inspired Caspar David Friedrich to paint this picture in 1818. Today it's one of the most important works of German Romanticism. Like many of his contemporaries, Friedrich idealized nature in his paintings. Where Friedrich found the motif for this painting is still anyone's guess, because erosion permanently changes the look of the chalk cliffs.

Mountains, moors and lakes - these define the region around Murnau, also known as the land of blue. In 1908, Wassily Kandinsky and his partner Gabriele Münter discovered this idyllic landscape. Here Kandinsky founded the "Blaue Reiter" (Blue Rider) artist group.

Using strong colors, like in this painting from 1909, Kandinsky created a memorial of the Bavarian landscape that inspired him. In Murnau, which he described as a "happy bolt-hole," he developed expressionistic painting techniques and opened the path to abstraction.

In a summer residence on the shores of Wannsee Lake in Berlin, artist Max Liebermann escaped hectic city life. Above all else, he loved his garden, which was designed according to his ideas. Liebermann had his atelier on the top floor of his villa. Garden and villa became the subject of many of his impressionistic works.

Liebermann was one of German Impressionism's foremost artists. More than 200 works of art were created in Wannsee. Some 40 of his paintings can be seen at the Liebermann Villa today. The central focus of the exhibition is the garden in changing light. The villa has been open to the public since 2006.

In the small village Seebüll, close to the Danish border, Emil Nolde and his wife created a private retreat with a home, atelier and a large garden. The latter became the subject and inspiration for many of Nolde's expressionistic water colors. With his choice of bright colors, Emil Nolde was one of the early expressionistic painters.

The cottage gardens with their lush flower beds fascinated Nolde as much as the mood created by the light of the marshlands of the north. In his water colors, he brings the very nature of the landscape to light. Looking at his paintings, you might feel transported into the sunny south rather than the usually grey north.