Klengel studied at the Dresden academy, founded in 1764, where he also later became a professor. The subject of landscape, otherwise generally considered inferior, was part of the training there. Klengel’s teachers urged their students to draw from nature and record unspectacular landscapes other than famous views. Rising between trees against a stormy sky, the village church is one such scene. The highly regarded Klengel was also esteemed by the painters of the new generation like Carus, Dahl, and Friedrich.