After the Storm
Caspar David Friedrich
1817
After the ravages of a storm, the mast rising towards the sky is broken. Lines and ropes flutter in the wind, and the maroon sail sinks into the sea. With great care, the artist has depicted the sunlight piercing the clouds, the rain over the sea and the white foam whipped from the agitated waters. Caspar David Friedrich grew up in Greifswald near the Baltic Sea, and throughout his life he regularly visited the nearby island of Rügen. Here he watched the sky and the sea in all kinds of weather. Ships at sea were a recurring theme in his art, often serving as symbols of life’s journey. In Friedrich’s pictorial universe, human drama and immediate observation come together.
SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen · Image: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Public domain · Text: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark (text: Peter Nørgaard Larsen) (adapted), CC0