The Quiet Observer of Landscapes Hermann Both spent his life looking closely at the way light settles over a terrain. Born in Gdańsk, Poland, in 1826, he moved through the artistic circles of the 19th century with a focus on the natural world. His eyes were trained in the art school of Gdańsk under Johann Karl Schultz before he moved to the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf. It was there, between 1849 and 1852, that he studied under Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. This period shaped his way of seeing, leading him to follow Schirmer to Karlsruhe later in his life. His work often captures the stillness of a sp…