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Devil's bridge

The most celebrated painting of the Romantic era depicts the construction of a new bridge in the Schöllenen Gorge near the Saint Gotthard Pass. The illuminated bridge stands in the centre of a landscape where one single path symbolises human life before and after death. According to several legends from the Middle Ages, the difficult job of building the bridge is completed due to a pact with the Devil.

Carl Blechen: 'Building of the Devil's bridge', painting ca. 1833
Carl Blechen: "Building of the Devil's bridge", painting ca. 1833
Photo: Bayerische Staatsgemäldesammlungen
Loan by the Federal Republic of Germany to the Neue Pinakothek, Munich
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