Robert Zünd

Robert Zünd’s art is distinguished by a special closeness to nature and his highly naturalistic, richly detailed style of painting. His passions were mainly for idyllic landscapes around Lucerne. He avoided depicting modern facilities such as buildings and railways. His landscapes are generally arranged according to classical composition theory.

In 1882 he completed Der Eichenwald (The Oak Forest), one of his best known works. The image was based on an earlier study and a smaller 1859 version. Gottfried Keller visited Zünd’s humble art studio while pursuing his interest in art and was impressed by what he saw, declaring that it approached the true ideal landscape. The painting was exhibited in Zürich at the Schweizerische Landesausstellung of 1883. Today the picture is owned by the Kunsthaus Zürich.