Caspar David Friedrich's works and Romantic painting

In this highly recommended book, art historian and author Barbara Hess provides new perspectives on one of the most influential artists of German Romanticism - Caspar David Friedrich. Emotion, passion, individual experience and, above all, the tortured soul are the characteristics of this epoch. The famous German painter from Greifswald knew how to realise these basic themes in his paintings like no other. Landscapes and religious motifs took centre stage. One of his main concerns was to involve viewers and their emotional feelings in the interpretation of his art.

• Caspar David Friedrich: The Romantic era as reflected in his paintings


• Motifs of Romanticism: nature, mystical landscapes and medieval monastery ruins as an expression of the search for (inner) harmony and infinity


• Masterpieces of art: chalk cliffs on Rügen, the monk by the sea, village landscape in the morning light


• Enjoying art in pocket format: a fresh look at the artworks of Caspar David Friedrich


• Focus on the life and work of famous artists: the A-Z series from Hatje Cantz Verlag, which invites you to think further

Famous paintings revisited: Brief analyses of Caspar David Friedrich's art

The explosive nature of Caspar David Friedrich's paintings can still be felt today. Whether discussions about climate change and sustainability or the relationship between man and nature: the allegorical paintings of the famous German painter are often used as silent witnesses. The pictorial motifs, which focus on the aesthetics of impact, continue to radiate far into the art history of the 20th century. With this volume, Barbara Hess succeeds in providing unique access to Friedrich's work. On 120 pages and with 35 illustrations, she opens up new perspectives on his motifs and themes for art enthusiasts and Caspar David Friedrich fans.

CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH (1774-1840) is the most important artist of the German Romantic period. Born in Greifswald, then part of the Kingdom of Sweden, he studied drawing at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, before settling in Dresden in 1798. His compositions are visualizations of emotional landscapes that create an instant of sublimity. His works elude lucidity and have therefore continuously been open to new interpretations.

Art historian BARBARA HESS (*1964) has published works on avant-garde galleries, Abstract Expressionism, the documenta, Lucio Fontana and Jasper Johns, among others. Most recently, she has co-edited the diary of the German post-war avant-garde artist HP Zimmer, published this spring by Hatje Cantz.