Carus was a leading painter of German Romanticism, second in importance only to his close friend Caspar David Friedrich. He was a multitalented man: a correspondent of Goethe"s, theorist, writer on art, medical professor, royal physician, and notable scientist. His now-famous Nine Letters on Landscape Painting (1831) reflects his changing attitude toward nature. Having initially embraced a religio-mystical Romanticism, one that was nurtured by his friendship with Friedrich, Carus then changed course, moving toward greater objectivity and a nascent naturalism. His increased spontaneity in the face of nature is vividly expressed in the modest motif of An Overgrown Mineshaft, an entrance to a rock cave that has been taken over by riotous weeds and bushes.