Caspar David Friedrich is considered one of the leading painters of German Romanticism. He grew up in Greifswald as the sixth of ten children. His upbringing was influenced by his father's strict Lutheran faith. Already at a young age Friedrich had to suffer various blows of fate. His mother died when he was seven years old. Shortly afterwards one of his sisters died. At the age of 13 he had to watch his brother Christoffer, who was one year younger, drowning in the lake. Christoffer himself had died trying to save Caspar David. This experience had a strong impact on Friedrich and is probably one of the reasons for his later depression and the failed suicide attempt.
Friedrich received his first drawing lessons in 1790 as a private pupil of the artist Johann Gottfried Quistrop, who liked to take excursions with his pupils into the landscape of Western Pomerania. He encouraged Friedrich to draw freely from nature. Through his teacher Quistrop Friedrich also made the acquaintance of the theologian Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten, who saw nature as a revelation of God. After four years Frederick went to study at the Academy of Copenhagen. There he was a student of Christian August Lorentzen and Jens Juel, among others. After completing his studies, Friedrich settled in Dresden in 1798. Although he tried many different methods, such as etchings and experimental prints, he preferred to draw and paint with ink, watercolor or sepia. Later he also painted more often oil paintings. Frequent motifs in his work were landscape scenes inspired by his frequent trips to the Baltic Sea, Rügen or the Harz Mountains. He gained fame in 1805 when he won the coveted Weimar Kunstfreunde Prize, at the insistence of Goethe. His work "Tetschener Altar" (1807), which is regarded as the beginning of his mature oil technique, is particularly well received.
Friedrich's reputation deteriorated steadily during the last fifteen years of his life. As the ideals of early Romanticism went out of fashion. contemporaries saw him as an eccentric and melancholy person. His style was no longer contemporary. Gradually his patrons left him and Frederick withdrew more and more. Around 1835 he suffered his first stroke, which caused the first signs of paralysis. Despite a stay at a health resort, Frederick hardly regenerated and painting was difficult for him. He gave up oil painting almost completely and devoted himself to watercolours and sepia drawings. His last oil painting was "Seashore by Moonlight". The works from this time hardly showed any landscape scenes, but often contained symbols of death and dwindling life, such as "Coffin at the Grave". Frederick was able to paint less and less and sell even less, which meant that he and his family ended up living in poverty.
Caspar David Friedrich is considered one of the leading painters of German Romanticism. He grew up in Greifswald as the sixth of ten children. His upbringing was influenced by his father's strict Lutheran faith. Already at a young age Friedrich had to suffer various blows of fate. His mother died when he was seven years old. Shortly afterwards one of his sisters died. At the age of 13 he had to watch his brother Christoffer, who was one year younger, drowning in the lake. Christoffer himself had died trying to save Caspar David. This experience had a strong impact on Friedrich and is probably one of the reasons for his later depression and the failed suicide attempt.
Friedrich received his first drawing lessons in 1790 as a private pupil of the artist Johann Gottfried Quistrop, who liked to take excursions with his pupils into the landscape of Western Pomerania. He encouraged Friedrich to draw freely from nature. Through his teacher Quistrop Friedrich also made the acquaintance of the theologian Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten, who saw nature as a revelation of God. After four years Frederick went to study at the Academy of Copenhagen. There he was a student of Christian August Lorentzen and Jens Juel, among others. After completing his studies, Friedrich settled in Dresden in 1798. Although he tried many different methods, such as etchings and experimental prints, he preferred to draw and paint with ink, watercolor or sepia. Later he also painted more often oil paintings. Frequent motifs in his work were landscape scenes inspired by his frequent trips to the Baltic Sea, Rügen or the Harz Mountains. He gained fame in 1805 when he won the coveted Weimar Kunstfreunde Prize, at the insistence of Goethe. His work "Tetschener Altar" (1807), which is regarded as the beginning of his mature oil technique, is particularly well received.
Friedrich's reputation deteriorated steadily during the last fifteen years of his life. As the ideals of early Romanticism went out of fashion. contemporaries saw him as an eccentric and melancholy person. His style was no longer contemporary. Gradually his patrons left him and Frederick withdrew more and more. Around 1835 he suffered his first stroke, which caused the first signs of paralysis. Despite a stay at a health resort, Frederick hardly regenerated and painting was difficult for him. He gave up oil painting almost completely and devoted himself to watercolours and sepia drawings. His last oil painting was "Seashore by Moonlight". The works from this time hardly showed any landscape scenes, but often contained symbols of death and dwindling life, such as "Coffin at the Grave". Frederick was able to paint less and less and sell even less, which meant that he and his family ended up living in poverty.
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