Albert Bierstadt’s view of the Gothic Revival chapel of the Löwenburg royal castle near Kassel, Germany, was based on an oil sketch he made in 1855, while studying art at the Düsseldorf Academy. Bierstadt’s poetic title evokes associations with spiritual enlightenment and darkness. However, he also contrasts the man in a top hat inside the sunlit church with the impoverished woman nursing her infant, a traditional Christian symbol of charity cast in shadow on the steps outside. The oak tree, symbolizing enduring faith in the face of adversity and Christ’s cross, crucifixion, and resurrection, was adopted as the national tree of Germany. Bierstadt incorporated oak branches and leaves into his Gothic Revival frame. This historicizing style, inspired by medieval precedents, sought to endow many machine-made, mass-produced goods of the industrial era with an aura of spiritual value.