| German artist Date of Birth: 05.09.1774 Country: Germany |
Caspar David Friedrich, a German artist, was one of the most prominent representatives of the Romantic movement in German painting, alongside Philipp Otto Runge. He was born on September 5, 1774, in Greifswald, Pomerania, into a family of soapmakers.
During his youth, Friedrich lost most of his relatives - his mother died in 1781, followed by the death of his two sisters and brother. In 1790, he received his first drawing lessons. From 1794 to 1798, Friedrich studied fine arts at the Academy of Arts in Copenhagen. After returning from Denmark, he traveled to various cities in Germany until he settled in Dresden. He became close to a circle of romantics, including L.Tic, Novalis, G. von Kleist, as well as F.O. Runge. In 1810, he met J.W. Goethe, and in 1821, he met V.A. Zhukovsky. Friedrich was also friends with the natural philosopher and artist C.G. Carus. He had a close relationship with the Norwegian artist Johan Dahl and greatly influenced his work. Starting from 1801, Friedrich repeatedly visited the island of Rügen in the Baltic Sea, seeking inspiration. He also enjoyed traveling to Saxon Switzerland and Harz. He frequently visited his hometown of Greifswald.
Until 1807, Friedrich worked exclusively in drawing techniques, mainly using pencil or sepia. He then turned to oil painting. In 1810, his paintings began to gain public success.
Friedrich's early works, such as "The Tomb in the Snow" (1807), "The Cross in the Mountains" (1808), and "Monk by the Sea" (1808-1810), revealed the pensive and mystic atmosphere of his art. In Friedrich's paintings, nature and symbols of supernatural existence, such as the sea horizon, mountain peaks, ships, distant cities, crosses, and cemeteries, create a mysterious and silent atmosphere. Historical motifs, whether ancient or medieval, appear as melancholic elements that emphasize tragic ruptures rather than connections between different times. The intensity of colors is tempered by mist and the haze of sunset or sunrise. For Friedrich, nature was a carrier of profound religious experiences and often acquired symbolic meaning. He used landscape as a means to depict his deep emotional experiences, reminiscent of the style of his predecessor and compatriot Albrecht Altdorfer, who lived three centuries earlier.
One of his notable works, "The Stages of Life," depicts four human figures of different ages on a desolate Arctic shore, with an equal number of ships approaching the shore at different distances. Through this composition, Friedrich convincingly portrays the inexorable passage of time. The scene against the backdrop of a sunset evokes a keen sense of melancholic nostalgia. Another famous painting, known as "The Abbey in the Oakwood" (1809-1810), creates a sharp feeling of despair and hopelessness.
Among Friedrich's other well-known works are "Grave of the Guttenberg" (1815), "On a Sailing Ship" (1818), "Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" (1818), "Two Men Contemplating the Moon" (1819-1820), "Moonrise Over the Sea," and "Woman at a Window" (both 1822). His paintings often contain poetic allegories of the struggle against the Napoleonic invasion, such as "French Marksman in an Evergreen Forest" (1812), which depicts a lone figure lost in a winter forest.
In 1824, Friedrich became a professor at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. He left behind aphorisms and observations about art, emphasizing the importance of combining fidelity to nature ("the soul of nature") with internal spiritual intuition, which he considered the "divine word" in the heart. In 1835, Friedrich suffered a stroke, which prevented him from working with oil paints. He continued to create small sepia drawings until his death.
The artist died in poverty on May 7, 1840, in Dresden. Friedrich's art, initially forgotten, regained attention in the 20th century, particularly during the Surrealist movement.