Karinger portrayed this and similar motifs during his travels through South Tyrol, which until the outbreak of WWI was part of the Habsburg monarchy. Karinger spent most of his time in and around Tyrolian Auer and Eppan during October (e.g. in 1867, 1868, and 1869), producing several sketches of the rocky landscape interspersed with trees. Eppan and Auer are around a three hours’ walk apart. Karinger returned to South Tyrol just a few months before his unexpected death, again sketching Eppan’s craggy hill on Sunday, 3 October 1869. These elaborate sketches were later converted into the oil paintings A Motif from Eppan (Motiv pri Eppanu) and Southern Landscape (Južna Pokrajina, NG S 136).