As of: December 13, 2023 10:59 p.m
The exhibition “Caspar David Friedrich. Art for a new time” marks the start of a nationwide Caspar David Friedrich Festival. Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier opened the show on Wednesday evening.
It was a festive start on Wednesday evening in the Hamburger Kunsthalle: the mega show on Caspar David Friedrich opened. It is the first part of a trilogy that will be continued in Hamburg in the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Berlin State Museums and then completed in the Dresden State Art Collections. The heads of all three houses were present – as was Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier. He arrived a little late for his opening speech because he had the honor of inspecting the exhibition before anyone else.
“Friedrich’s art is very close to us” – Steinmeier’s opening words
“I have to make you a little jealous now,” Steinmeier began, grinning visibly in delight. Outside there was late rush hour traffic and the Christmas hustle and bustle, but inside the museum he was lost, lost in a good way, like in another, a parallel world, enthused the Federal President. “Friedrich’s art reflects the great upheavals of his time,” were his opening words. “That sounds familiar to us today, because we too are experiencing major upheavals and changes.” The climate crisis, the hardening of public conversation and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East unsettled people. “And perhaps it has something to do with this existential uncertainty that Friedrich’s art is so close to us, especially today,” says Steinmeier.
An artist in context
Hamburg’s First Mayor Peter Tschentscher was also present and expressed himself matter-of-factly but noticeably proud that Hamburg was able to ring in the Caspar David Friedrich anniversary. The anniversary show can be seen in the Kunsthalle from Friday until April 1, 2024. The occasion is Friedrich’s 250th birthday next year and iconic works will be shown that address the novel relationship between humans and nature in the painter’s landscape depictions. Even more: a second part of the exhibition is dedicated to Friedrich’s reception in contemporary art. Works from the 19th century are shown in the Great Hall (as part of the permanent exhibition) – and the white, male art canon that predominates here is broken in a highly critical but also very aesthetic way by works by the American artist Kehinde Wiley. After the opening ceremony with music played by the Ensemble Ensemble, there was plenty to talk about at the reception with appetizers.
The audience is enthusiastic about the works and the exhibition concept
According to one visitor, the show is suitable for attracting a younger audience, including for a very first contact with the artist’s oeuvre. You can literally feel the longing that drove Caspar David Friedrich, and the exhibition shows that the artist was able to preserve the world in his works at the last moment before industrialization, shortly before everything radically changed, according to two visitors. It was a successful exhibition, a recommendable one – also because it brings together then and now in such an exciting way, others said.
People and nature – from different perspectives
Not only 60 paintings and around 100 drawings by Friedrich, including the most famous ones such as “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog”, “The Sea of Ice” and “Chalk Cliffs on Rügen”, are on display. Selected works by friends of the artist can also be seen as part of the exhibition. It’s about people and their environment, about nature as inspiration and also as superior power. Hamburg’s Senator for Culture Carsten Brosda (SPD) said in a press conference on Wednesday morning: “The exhibition is an invitation to reflect on how we as humans relate to our surroundings and our nature.”
The anniversary year throughout Germany
On the occasion of the anniversary year, after the Hamburg show, the Alte Nationalgalerie of the Berlin State Museums and the Dresden State Art Collections also want to dedicate thematically independent exhibitions to the painter. All three presentations are under the patronage of Steinmeier.
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