Caspar David Friedrich

A revelatory look at how the mature work of Caspar David Friedrich engaged with concurrent developments in natural science and philosophy

Best known for his atmospheric landscapes featuring contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies and morning mists, Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) came of age alongside a German Romantic philosophical movement that saw nature as an organic and interconnected whole. The naturalists in his circle believed that observations about the animal, vegetable, and mineral kingdoms could lead to conclusions about human life. Many of Friedrich’s often-overlooked later paintings reflect his engagement with these philosophical ideas through a focus on isolated shrubs, trees, and rocks. Others revisit earlier compositions or iconographic motifs but subtly metamorphose the previously distinct human figures into the natural landscape.

In this revelatory book, Nina Amstutz combines fresh visual analysis with broad interdisciplinary research to investigate the intersection of landscape painting, self-exploration, and the life sciences in Friedrich’s mature work. Drawing connections between the artist’s anthropomorphic landscape forms and contemporary discussions of biology, anatomy, morphology, death, and decomposition, Amstutz brings Friedrich’s work into the larger discourse surrounding art, nature, and life in the 19th century.

O privire revelatorie asupra modului in care opera matura a lui Caspar David Friedrich s-a angajat in evolutiile concurente in stiinte naturale si filozofie Cel mai cunoscut pentru peisajele sale atmosferice cu figuri contemplative siluetate pe cerul noptii si ceaturile matinale, Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) a ajuns la varsta alaturi de Miscare filozofica romantica germana care vedea natura ca un tot organic si interconectat.