Enchanted Rock State Natural Area
Born in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany in 1813, Herman Lungkwitz studied art at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts before joining fellow students in the failed May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. A year later, Lungkwitz, his brother-in-law, and fellow artist Richard Petri moved their families to the United States, eventually buying ranchland outside Fredericksburg.
Lungkwitz’s paintings and pencil drawings of the Hill Country became the definitive early artistic record of the region, especially those of Enchanted Rock – one of his favorite subjects. “I wanted to penetrate more into the interior of the granite mountains,” he once wrote. “The area at Crabapple near Grebe’s and Max’s farm is wildly romantic with many beautiful views.” Lungkwitz painted at least six landscapes of the area.