Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral
Carl Hasenpflug, c. 1834–1836
Cologne finished in the mind before the cranes finished the stone. Twin towers, open plaza, daylight ambition.
About this work
Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral is a painting by Carl Hasenpflug, signed "C. Hasenpflug fec. in Köln u. Halberstadt 1834-1836," now in the Kölnisches Stadtmuseum (Cologne City Museum). It shows something that did not yet exist: the cathedral as it would look when finally complete, with both great west towers and spires, seen from the southwest across an open square. When Hasenpflug painted it, Cologne Cathedral was a famous unfinished building. Construction began in 1248 and stopped in 1473, leaving the south tower complete only to the belfry, topped by a huge crane that stayed on the skyline for four hundred years. Work resumed in the nineteenth century, was properly funded only from the 1840s, and the cathedral was finished to its medieval plan in 1880, when at 157 meters it was the tallest building in the world. Its twin spires give it the largest façade of any church. Hasenpflug, born in Berlin in 1802, began as a shoemaker, trained as a decorative painter with Carl Wilhelm Gropius and became one of the leading German architectural painters of his time. He worked on a commission in Cologne from 1832 to 1836. The canvas measures 196 by 150.5 cm.
Sources: Wikipedia (German): Carl Hasenpflug · Wikimedia Commons: Carl Hasenpflug, Idealansicht des Kölner Doms · Wikipedia: Cologne Cathedral
Print facts
- Native resolution
- 4,977 × 6,352 px
- Sharp at 150 ppi up to
- 33 × 42 in
- Sizes
- Small (16 × 20 in) · $100 · 311 ppi
Medium (19 × 24 in) · $150 · 262 ppi
Large (28 × 36 in) · $300 · 176 ppi - Price includes
- Frame and US shipping · 14–21 days · 30-day returns
FAQ
Where can I buy a framed print of Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral?
Here. Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral is available as a framed print in three sizes: Small (16 × 20 in) for $100, Medium (19 × 24 in) for $150 and Large (28 × 36 in) for $300. Prices include the frame and US shipping; delivery takes 14–21 days, with 30-day returns.
What size works best for Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral?
The file is 4,977 × 6,352 px, so every size is sharp: even Large (28 × 36 in) prints at 176 ppi. Choose Large (28 × 36 in) for a large wall; Small (16 × 20 in) suits a narrower space.
Is it legal to print Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral?
Yes. Ideal View of Cologne Cathedral is in the public domain: its copyright, if it ever had one, expired long ago. In the United States a faithful photograph of a public-domain painting does not create a new copyright (Bridgeman v. Corel, 1999), so the image can be printed and sold freely.
