Caspar David Friedrich, monk by the sea, 1808-1810; Oil on canvas, 110 x 171.5 cm, Berlin State Museums, National Gallery / Photographer: Andres Kilger Caspar David Friedrich, monk by the sea, 1808-1810; Oil on canvas, 110 x 171.5 cm, Berlin State Museums, National Gallery / Photographer: Andres Kilger Caspar David Friedrich.
On the occasion of the 250th birthday of Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840), the Alte Nationalgalerie, in cooperation with the copper engraving cabinet of the State Museums in Berlin, is showing a major exhibition of the work of the most important German Romantic painter for the first time. Around 60 paintings and 50 drawings from home and abroad, including world-famous icons, will be on display.
Such an exhibition is long overdue in Berlin, simply because numerous acquisitions and public presentations in the Prussian capital contributed to the artist's early fame during Frederick's lifetime and because the National Gallery houses one of the largest Friedrich painting collections in the world.
The central theme of the exhibition is the role of the National Gallery in the rediscovery of Friedrich's art at the beginning of the 20th century. After the painter had fallen into oblivion in the second half of the 19th century, the National Gallery honored the artist more comprehensively than ever before with the legendary “German Centenary Exhibition” in 1906 with 93 paintings and drawings. Friedrich was celebrated as an outstanding painter of light and atmosphere and a pioneer of modernism.
In addition, another exhibition chapter is dedicated to Friedrich's pairs of pictures, with which the artist expressed different perspectives and the idea of change. Probably the most famous pair of pictures – “Monk by the Sea” and “Abbey in the Eichwald” – represents the uniqueness of the National Gallery’s collection. In a third chapter, the latest research results on Friedrich's painting technique are presented.
In the Caspar David Friedrich anniversary year 2024, the Berlin presentation is part of a series of thematically independent exhibitions in the Hamburger Kunsthalle, in the Alte Nationalgalerie and in the Dresden State Art Collections.
In his birthplace of Greifswald, the painter's life and work will be celebrated in 2024 with a year-round program of events.
More information about the exhibition
Photo credits: Caspar David Friedrich, The Watzmann, 1824/1825Oil on canvas, 135 x 170 cmState Museums in Berlin, National Gallery / On loan from DekaBank / Photographer: Andres Kilger | Caspar David Friedrich, The Lonely Tree, 1822Oil on canvas, 55 x 71 cmState Museums in Berlin, National Gallery / Photographer: Jörg P. Anders