Caspar David Friedrich
In addition to the Tetschen Altarpiece, Friedrich’s early programmatic painting, the Dresden Gallery also holds this late work by the artist, which can be regarded as the true zenith of his artistic career, the ultimate consummation of his oeuvre. The motif consists of the view over the River Elbe towards the Ostragehege, a large enclosure just beyond the north-west boundary of the city—a rather unspectacular stretch of common land. Yet Friedrich’s universal imagery undoubtedly attains its maximum concentration in this painting. Hardly discernible at first glance, a sailing boat is making its way across the evening landscape. The incredible expanse of the sky bathed in the declining light of evening is echoed in the darker zone of the ground lit only by sky’s reflection in this late summer panorama. From a slightly elevated and seemingly unearthly vantage point, the world is observed undergoing gentle transitions: twilight has replaced the day as night falls, the summer is gradually giving way to autumn, and the journey of the boat seems to be coming to an end in the shallow water between the islets.
Superbly atmospheric use of color with exceptionally subtle tonal gradations and sensitive harmonies intensifies the power of suggestion emanated by this painting, which can be counted among the incomparable masterpieces of European landscape painting. This quiet image of a landscape seems to capture the entire breadth of the cosmos as if in a concave mirror.
We present today's painting thanks to Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden.
P.S. Here's six shades of romantic creepiness in Caspar David Friedrich’s paintings for upcoming Halloween!
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