Abendlicht

Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), whose 250th birthday is celebrated this year, has continually engaged both art history and viewers of his paintings. His work is considered the epitome of Romanticism, that supposedly typically German "innerness" which counters the turmoil of his time—and of his own self-doubts—with the magic of tranquility. Florian Illies (born 1971) titled his book about Caspar David Friedrich, published last year by Fischer, with this theme and now elaborates on it under the motto "Evening Light" in our visual library. Setting suns, misty twilights, moonrises by the sea, observed by only a few, mostly depicted from behind—far from tristesse or sentimental bliss, Friedrich's paintings evoke longing, stir emotions, and open horizons...