Moonrise over the sea by Caspar David Friedrich

Moonrise over the sea by Caspar David Friedrich

The painting was painted as a steam room to the canvas “Rural Landscape in the Morning Light”. In both works, the theme of time, which always fascinated Friedrich, is heard. In the center of the composition “Rural scenery in the morning light,” the artist placed a large oak, behind which are seen the hazy mountains and a church enveloped in misty haze. Both paintings reflected the artist’s reflections on the transience of earthly existence.

In the case of “The Rise of the Moon over the Sea,” he develops a familiar theme, showing people watching the moon rise – that is, in the language of Frederick, how quickly and imperceptibly life passes. It is noteworthy that the artist placed his “observers” on a huge boulder. What was it supposed to symbolize? Probably a stone of faith, allowing people to be calm in the face of inexorably approaching death.

The whole scene is sustained in purple tones, which Frederick considered to be mourning. By the way, he was not the first to see the symbol of fast flowing time in the Moon. Even before his time, the romantic mystic Runge said: “It does not seem strange to me, when we involuntarily recall our whole life, looking at the clouds floating by the face of the full moon… They not only remind us of a past life, but make us think that waiting for us ahead. “

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