The exhibition on the work of the German artist Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) takes place at the Alte Nationalgalerie in Berlin from April 9 to August 4, 2024, where you can still visit world-famous emblematic works such as "The Sea of Ice", "Chalk Cliffs on Rügen" or "The Stages of Life".
Friedrich's representations are contextualized in the ideology of the enlightened man of the late 18th century and throughout the 19th century, an ideology where looking at nature becomes the centre of new currents of thought, as a reference for freedom with new systems of life and government, compared to those of the old regime. His paintings delve into the meaning of nature, which goes beyond the visible, whose value can be felt but can hardly be expressed in words. In the artist's works we can observe a hint of questions about human life and its finitude.
Caspar David Friedrich, Das Eismeer / The Arctic Ocean, 1823/24 Oil on canvas, 96.7 x 126.9 cm Hamburger Kunsthalle / bpk. Photograph by Elke Walford.
To mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), the Alte Nationalgalerie / Old National Gallery, in co-operation with the Kupferstichkabinett of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin / National Museums in Berlin, is presenting its first major exhibition of the work of the most important painter of German Romanticism.
With a technique of unusual delicacy, he created paintings of longing and hope – but of doubt as well. While Friedrich’s depictions appear closely modelled on nature, their meaning reaches beyond the visible. It can be sensed, but hardly put in words. There is an intimation of questions about human life and its finitude. In the wake of the Enlightenment, faith had lost significance. Nothing seemed steadfast anymore. In his art, Friedrich responded to this sentiment. The figures he painted with their backs to us look into an immensity that remains a mystery to them. Even today, Friedrich’s quiet paintings raise the question: Where does the human being stand in relation to the world?
Caspar David Friedrich: A Pioneer of Modernity
The role of the National Gallery in the rediscovery of Friedrich's art at the beginning of the 20th century is a central theme of the exhibition. After the painter had fallen into oblivion in the second half of the 19th century, the National Gallery paid tribute to the artist more comprehensively than ever before with the legendary "German Century Exhibition" in 1906, featuring 93 paintings and drawings. Friedrich was celebrated as an outstanding painter of light and atmosphere and as a pioneer of modernism.
Friedrich was celebrated as a leading painter of light and atmosphere and as a pioneer of modernism.
The exhibition will feature over sixty paintings and over fifty drawings by Friedrich from Germany and abroad, including world-famous iconic works such as The Sea of Ice (1823–24) from the Hamburger Kunsthalle, Chalk Cliffs on Rügen (1818–1819) from the Kunst Museum Winterthur, Cairn in Snow (1807) from the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden and The Stages of Life (1834) from the Museum der bildenden Künste Leipzig.
Another focus of the exhibition lies on Friedrich's pairs of paintings, with which the artist expressed different perspectives as well as the idea of change. Probably the most famous pair of paintings - "Monk by the Sea" and "Abbey in the Oak Forest" - represents the uniqueness of the National Gallery's collection. Finally, the third exhibition chapter presents the latest research results on Friedrich's painting technique.
