Here’s a painter you’ll hear a lot about in 2024. Numerous museums are marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of German artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774 –1840), celebrating his groundbreaking role in the era of Romanticism.
His art is also scheduled for a major 2025 exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the first major US solo Friedrich show. Above: The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, 1818, oil on canvas, 37.3 in × 29.4 in, Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Friedrich portrayed nature as a place for spiritual & emotional encounters
The German Romantic movement championed a radical new understanding of the bond between nature and the inner self. Friedrich emphasized the individuality, intimacy, open endedness, and complexity of our responses to the natural world. The vision of the landscape that unfolds in his art — meditative, mysterious, and full of wonder— is still vital today.
Metropolitan Museum of Art – Caspar David Friedrich: The Soul of Nature upcoming 2025 exhibition
Friedrich fell out of favour after the Second World War, his reputation tarnished by association with the Nazis. He was one of Hitler’s favourite artists and as a consequence, most of the art world steered clear of him. But artists themselves have often been inspired by his works.
The unique atmosphere that speaks to us from Friedrich’s works with their powerful motifs and compositions has inspired many artists . . . especially given the current relevance of ecological issues. The tension between the gradual destruction of the environment and a yearning for untouched nature has been an unbroken force from the Romantic age down to our own times
Hamburger Kunsthalle, site of the major 2024 Friedrich exhibition
More art by Caspar David Friedrich and a list of all the exhibitions, here.
Info on how the Hamburger Kunstahalle is pairing contemporary artists with Friedrich’s works, here.
Find out what is Romantic art – short overview, here.
Watch this video on Friedrich, his place in German history and the lure of Romanticism. Worth watching.
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Brilliant work, in spite of a certain starkness…. or perhaps because of it.
That starkness is somewhat apocalyptic.
I do think his work is more relevant than ever, for reasons noted by Hamburger Kunsthalle.
Also, I have a feeling his work will become nostalgic in the future as mankind reaches into the past and sees the warnings his landscapes unwittingly (possibly) presented.
Thank you for sharing the video, very interesting. Such beautiful art. He had a sad childhood, two sisters and a brother passed away. So true, the first painting does give a sense of loneliness and empowerment! The beauty of that painting is that we DO feel like we are standing there with the person in the portrait looking at the view. Amazing, really.
Loneliness and empowerment, true. Thanks for your comments.
Oh, I can’t take credit for those words. The fellow in the video said it, but I felt it was true and I repeated it while I was looking at that painting of the man staring out into the view. If I didn’t know, I would think he was in Scotland.