Friedrich

'These seductive books have slick production values, excellent illustrations, and smart texts. Each one is a fast-food, high-energy fix on the topic at hand' – The New York Times Book Review

An introductory book presenting Friedrich's most important and celebrated works and exploring his oeuvre of sublime and haunting impact 

The beauty of nature and man's loneliness are dominant themes in the work of Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840). The artist often places a small human figure in a broad landscape, as in his famous paintings Monk by the Sea and The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. For a long time the importance and influence of this great Romantic painter were underestimated.

When he died, Friedrich had already been forgotten by his contemporaries and was only rediscovered in the early 20th century. Today he is considered to be the most important German painter of his generation and a precursor of Expressionism. Once Friedrich gave the following advice to an artist-colleague of his who was constricted by academic rules: "Shut your physical eye so that you first see your painting with your spiritual eye.

Then bring to light what you saw in the dark so that it has an effect on others, shining inwards from outside." In other words, concentration and not imitation, essence and not frivolous brushwork.

Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art History series features approximately 100 color illustrations with explanatory captions, a detailed, illustrated introduction, a selection of the most important works of the epoch, each presented on a two-page spread with a full-page image and accompanying interpretation, as well as a portrait and brief biography of the artist.

• Author: Norbert Wolf
• Hardcover: 96 pages 
• Language: English
• Publication Date: June 2022
• ISBN: 9783836560719
• Product Dimensions: 26.4 x 22.1 cm