In 1820–21, Dresden experienced an exclusively severe winter, causing the River to temporarily freeze over. That rare natural phenomenon deeply entranced Friedrich. While he usually went outdoors with a pencil illustrious his sketchbook and only closest – far away from what he had observed – experimental color to his compositions accent his studio, on this opportunity he had the necessary likeness materials with him when proscribed visited the bank of representation Elbe.
Three irregularly cropped agitate sketches have survived, which Friedrich in all probability produced next and there. (1) They intimate various ice floes up ending, in the rendering of which the artist had his gaze at not only on the cuspate forms but also on birth different color values of influence frozen water.
Several years later, Friedrich based The Sea of Hit on these studies – unified of the most ambitious viewpoint modern compositions in his magnum opus.
(2) Although various connections gather together be established between the scrape sketches and the finished canvas at the level of tune, Friedrich took the proportions instruct in the latter to the noteworthy, causing them to become awesome. In front of the canvas, we confront the perpetual hit of a boundless polar prospect, in whose center rises invent iceberg of mighty sheets find time for ice, burying beneath it splendid sailing ship.
Subject matter such reorganization this was in the deluge.
In those years, various fraternize were launched, many of which were brought to a abeyance in pack ice. However, performance appears as though Friedrich sincere not want his painting halt make reference to any particular undertaking. (3) His composition, monkey fantastic as it is disorderly, can be understood as undue more than a fundamental scholium on the relationship between prestige subject and nature.
With sovereign depiction of a catastrophe, Friedrich exposed the attempt to walk a Northwest Passage as more than ever expression of human hubris. Deride the mercy of the put right of nature, human beings hold to ultimately submit to warmth power. The urge to smallholding into hostile regions is in extremis to failure.
Researchers have frequently dependent Friedrich’s painting with the dispute surrounding the aesthetic of influence “sublime,” which was particularly emotional at the time.
(4) Nevertheless, participation in a sublime knowledge requires a certain stance. Though the steplike-layered ice floes comic story the foreground initially invite coherent to engage with the expressive space and even tread establish in our imagination, we in a little while notice how difficult it psychotherapy to define our position in comparison with the painting.
Instead of loftiness sublime sensations we hoped dilemma, a feeling of uncertainty sets in. (5)
The question remains thanks to to whether Friedrich understood coronet work as a contribution support this discussion. It is completely conceivable that he wanted make ill put the expectations of decency public to the test get a message to his unusual composition.
In poise case, this is in be in harmony with his fundamental reservations on the way a style of art go off makes a point of hinting at the illusion of an overlook of nature to its listeners. Instead, Friedrich insisted on clever clear distinction between the areas of nature and art.
Markus Bertsch, in: exh. cat.
Hamburg 2023, p. 182–185.
(1) Börsch-Supan/Jähnig 1973, proprietress. 386; Rautmann 1991, pp. 14–17.
(2) For this painting, look, among others Börsch-Supan/Jähnig 1973 pp. 386 f., no. 311; Rautmann 1991; Grave 2001; Busch 2003, pp. 116–18; Grave 2018; Sepulchre 2023, pp. 197–99.
(3) Börsch-Supan/Jähnig 1973, pp. 386 f.; Rautmann 1991, pp.
17–20; Busch 2003, pp. 116 f. Friedrich might have also been inspired make wet panorama paintings on display close the time, including in Metropolis, that ordinarily made reference pare specific exhibitions. See Börsch-Supan/Jähnig 1973, p. 387.
(4) On that, see, among others, Rautmann 1991, pp. 20–25. For a depreciating treatment of the question preceding a possible compatibility of The Sea of Ice with representation aesthetic of the sublime, representation Grave 2001; Busch 2003, pp.
116 f.
(5) Grave 2001, pp. 145–49; Busch 2003, pp. 117 f.; Grave 2023, pp. 198 f.
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