The four elements: Earth

Hartmann employed fine brushwork to render varied textures: bark, foliage, skin, and fur are distinguished through subtle tonal shifts. The copper support allowed for luminous highlights and crisp detail, enhancing the naturalism of the scene. Colors are restrained yet deliberate—earthy greens and browns dominate, contrasted by a pale sky that recedes into soft atmospheric perspective.

Commissioned as part of a four-part cycle, the painting entered the Habsburg collection in the early 18th century. It remained in imperial holdings through successive reigns, eventually finding a permanent home in the Kunsthistorisches Museum upon its founding in 1891. Its preservation on copper contributed to its survival in good condition, uncommon for works of its era.

Hartmann’s work reflects the Baroque tradition of allegorical landscape painting, popular among Central European courts. Unlike mythological scenes, this series emphasized observable nature and human interaction with it, aligning with Enlightenment-era interests in natural philosophy. The choice of copper as a support was both practical and symbolic, suggesting durability and permanence.

Though Hartmann is not widely known today, this series represents a quiet shift in allegorical art—away from classical deities toward grounded, empirical representations of nature. The painting’s inclusion in a major imperial collection ensured its survival and influenced later regional artists who sought to depict nature as a living, inhabited space rather than an idealized backdrop.