When English world traveller and renowned landscape painter James Webb (1835-1895) moved to Cologne in 1869, his imagination took hold – his monumental panorama of Cologne, the metropolis on the Rhine, has a touch of the Far East: A tangle of cranes and sailboats sits on the water, at Deutz, and on the shore against the striking skyline of Groß St. Martin, Bollwerk, and Stapelhaus. The people round out the controlled chaos – cargo is handled, and they engage in lively dealings and haggling. Towering above the bustle and below the dramatically overcast sky is the still incomplete cathedral. It’s missing its spires and the wooden crane that, after nearly 500 years, had become emblematic of the city and its eternal construction site. In 1868 it had to be removed to make way for the next steps of construction. Aside from that, there was no sign of progress: Webb omits the steamers on the Rhine and the increasingly prevalent railways – his view of Cologne is not true to the time, and is highly romanticised. To the left is the tower of the Historic City Hall, which is where the picture comes full circle: James Webb’s bold view of the city will have a special place here in the future as a permanent loan from a dedicated city resident who, quite modestly, wishes to remain anonymous.
Rüdiger Müller