Carl Blechen und die Bausteine einer neuen Kunst

The life path of the Berlin landscape painter Carl Blechen (1798-1840), who died at the age of 41 due to a mental illness, has inspired research into various interpretations of his paintings and drawings. However, in his study, Kilian Heck does not initially focus on Blechen's mental state; instead, he examines, among other things, methods of image projection and their usefulness for Blechen's innovative composition. Blechen's paintings often have a somewhat theatrical quality, stemming from his time as a scenery painter: there is usually no central figure in the image; instead, black holes that resemble eyes are often placed within the picture, along with bright arches or other abstract elements that stretch the picture field through rhythmic and ornamental repetitions. At the same time, Blechen is frequently present in the images, for example, when he depicts himself as a monk without directly portraying himself. Using paintings and drawings from all periods of his work, Kilian Heck discusses the age-old question of art history regarding the extent to which an image is capable of capturing the seen world and representing reality. In doing so, he sheds new light on Blechen's impressive work and his still underappreciated role within the art history of the 19th century.