Old Man Before the Log Bridge

Old Man Before the Log Bridge — Johann Christoph Erhard. 1819.

Medium: etching. Dimensions: .

Collection record: The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

This print comes from a series of four etchings known as the "Salzburg landscapes with large figures." Johann Erhard used the setting of the figures in the landscape to hint at wider concerns. This composition of an elderly man approaching a bridge may be read as a metaphor for crossing the boundary between life and death. In Erhard’s oeuvre, the beauty of the landscape gives no assurance of a carefree way of life. His pessimistic outlook can be linked to his mental collapse and suicide in 1822.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.