Romantisches Kalkül

Starting from the small image "Cross by the Baltic Sea," Werner Busch develops an interpretation of Caspar David Friedrich's painting that does not conform to the cliché of a romanticism that denies rationality and natural science, focusing solely on emotion and nostalgia: "The denial of the mathematical foundations of Friedrich's images reflects a widespread misunderstanding of romanticism, as if to evoke romantic feelings, the artist must surrender to romantic sentimentality." This essay offers a different perspective on Friedrich's works and on a romanticism that was permeated by mathematical reason and observational empiricism. It is published in anticipation of the Caspar David Friedrich anniversary in 2024, which will be accompanied by major exhibitions in Hamburg, Dresden, and Berlin. This essay breaks with clichés about Friedrich and romanticism. Werner Busch, a renowned Friedrich scholar involved in the planned exhibitions in Berlin and Dresden, demonstrates how deeply romanticism was influenced by empiricism and rationality.