Friedrich’s enduring Influence: beyond the Bicentennial

Caspar David Friedrich, the celebrated Romantic painter, continues to resonate with contemporary audiences and artists alike. While the 250th anniversary of his birth was commemorated in 2024, a major exhibition, Caspar David Friedrich.The Soul of Nature, at the Metropolitan Museum of Art until May 11, underscores his lasting impact. This ambitious exhibition, curated by Alison hokanson and Joanna Sheers Seidenstein, brings together a comprehensive collection of his most iconic works alongside lesser-known pieces, offering a nuanced perspective on the artist beyond his iconic status.

Surrealism’s Debt to the Romantic Visionary

The timing of the Friedrich revival coincides intriguingly with the centennial of the Surrealist Manifesto. This milestone has prompted widespread reflection on Surrealism’s legacy, exemplified by major exhibitions like the one at the Center Pompidou in Paris. Notably, Friedrich’s work has been explicitly linked to the Surrealist movement. As a notable example, Max Ernst selected Friedrich’s Frühschnee (Early Snow) as a visual touchstone for the Forêts (Forests) section of a Paris exhibition, highlighting the artist’s profound influence on Surrealist aesthetics.

Furthermore, the Rendez-Vous of Dreams exhibition explored the Surrealists’ interest with German romanticism, revealing a deeper connection between the two movements. André Breton, the “Pope” of Surrealism, held Friedrich in high regard, as evidenced by Maurice Henry’s letter from 1960, where he noted Breton’s thankfulness for Friedrich’s unique artistic vision, comparing it to that of Magritte.

Beyond Archeology: Unearthing Genuine Affinities

While some might view the surrealists’ interest in Friedrich as a form of historical revisionism, a closer examination of contemporary reactions to his work reveals genuine affinities. Heinrich von Kleist, a pioneering art critic, described Friedrich’s Monk by the Sea as an apocalypse, anticipating the unsettling effect of Surrealist imagery. Kleist’s observation about the painting’s frame creating a painful cut in the viewer’s eye foreshadows the disturbing visual techniques employed by Luis Buñuel in Un chien Andalou.

It was Heinrich von Kleist, among the artist’s pioneer commentators from the pages of the “Berliner Abndblätter”, to underline how much, in the comparison with the monk by the sea (early masterpiece offered to the public in October 1810), we were exhibited at the outcome of an “apocalypse”; And how, in recognizing the frame as a limit to a boundless uniformity, the spectator’s eye felt the feeling of a painful cut, engraved in the centre of the pupil.

Heinrich von Kleist, Berliner Abndblätter

This connection suggests that Friedrich’s exploration of the visible and invisible realms resonated deeply with the Surrealists’ own artistic concerns.

Magritte’s Homage: Symbolism Over Picturesque Views

Alison Hokanson’s essay in the Met exhibition catalog highlights magritte’s admiration for Friedrich,revealing that the Belgian artist considered him a key predecessor. Magritte’s preference for Friedrich stemmed from the latter’s rejection of conventional landscape painting, prioritizing symbolic portrayal over picturesque accuracy. This approach is evident in works like Cross in the Mountains and Statue of the Madonna on the Mountains, where Friedrich manipulates perspective to create a sense of mystery and invite contemplation.

Friedrich’s use of silhouettes to represent the infinite and the unknowable aligns with his Protestant faith, conveying a sense of the divine through visual metaphors. This negative theology, where the image serves as a threshold rather than a window, is a defining characteristic of his artistic vision.

Communion Through Contemplation: The Social Dimension of Solitude

The Met exhibition emphasizes the social dimension of Friedrich’s art, challenging the myth of him as a solitary figure. His paintings often depict figures contemplating nature, united by a shared sense of yearning and hope. This focus on sociality reveals a more nuanced understanding of Friedrich’s life and work, highlighting his close relationships with family and friends.

Paintings like Woman at the Window,depicting Friedrich’s wife,and two Men Contemplating the Moon,paired with a portrait of Friedrich by Johan Christian Dahl,underscore the importance of intimacy and connection in his life.These works reveal a sense of solidarity and shared experience,enriching our understanding of Friedrich’s artistic vision.