Caspar David Friedrich : Moonwatchers

by Sabine Rewald; With an essay by Kasper Monrad

• ISBN13: 9780300092981
• ISBN10: 0300092989
• Format: Trade Paper
• Copyright: 2002-01-11
• Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art

Summary

Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), a major figure in the German Romantic movement, painted sublime works representing nature at its most melancholic and desolate. One of his most famous motifs was that of two intimate figures, seen from behind, gazing at the moon. Friedrich painted three versions of this theme, one of which -- Two Men Contemplating the Moon -- has recently been acquired by The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The book discusses the Metropolitan's painting in conjunction with the other two versions and a number of related paintings and drawings by Friedrich and his Dresden friends. It also presents fascinating details about the moon itself -- including what was known about it in Friedrich's lifetime and its presence and symbolism in contemporary Romantic poetry.

Table of Contents

Director's Foreword	p. 6
Acknowledgments	p. 7
Note to the Reader	p. 8
Moonwatchers	p. 9
Friedrich and Two Danish Moonwatchers	p. 23
Catalogue	p. 30
Selected Bibliography	p. 56
Table of Contents provided by Blackwell. All Rights Reserved.