In “The Palm House,” by German Realist master Karl Blechen (1798 – 1840), a profusion of palm trees and plants are delicately illuminated like an exotic, primeval forest. Purchased by King Frederick William III of Prussia, this palm house was one of the first large hothouses in Germany. Serving as the prototype for the country’s future hothouses, it combined the building style of the orangeries with Classicism’s large, simple shapes. No European garden of that era displayed such large plant specimens. In this piece, Blechen captured the grandiose effect created from the unity of the immense architectural and plant forms.

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