This scene probably doesn't represent a particular place but is rather an impression of the Danube valley, where Altdorfer lived. It is one of two paintings by Altdorfer without figures, which reflected the development of landscape painting as a subject in its own right.
The low viewpoint emphasises the height of the wooden footbridge that leads to the gatehouse of a castle. It is the anchor of the scene, joining the building on the left to the wilderness on the right, connecting civilisation with nature. The true subject of the picture, however, is the detailed study of the enormous larch tree at the centre, its branches growing wildly in all directions.
The man-made structures seem frail by comparison to nature. Framed by the bridge’s stilt-like supports is a small village, the spire of its church reaching up above the treetops, minuscule in the shadow of the rocky mountain in the distance.
This scene probably doesn't represent a particular place but is rather an impression of the Danube valley, where Altdorfer lived. He has picked a number of features typical of the local forest, placing them all within one image: the small stream that runs beneath the bridge, a fortified building and a rocky crag.
Altdorfer has composed the scene from a low viewpoint, which emphasises the height of the wooden footbridge that leads to the gatehouse of a castle. It is the anchor of the scene, joining the building on the left to the wilderness on the right, connecting civilisation with nature. The true subject of the picture, however, is the detailed study of the enormous larch tree at the centre, its branches growing wildly in all directions and the weight of the foliage causing the upper branches to droop. The forest encroaches the bridge on all sides, and clusters of tree trunks mirror its tall supporting posts, contrasting the living wood with the dead. The man-made structures seem frail by comparison to the vast and vital nature all around. Framed by the bridge’s stilt-like supports is a small village, the spire of its church reaching up above the tree tops, minuscule in the shadow of the huge rocky mountain in the distance.
Painted with oil paint on parchment stuck on to a wooden panel, this is one of two paintings by Altdorfer of landscapes with no figures (the other is in the Alte Pinakothek, Munich). His interest in the poetry and drama of his local surroundings reflected the development of landscape painting as a subject in its own right at the beginning of the sixteenth century.
