Today, the landscape paintings of Caspar David Friedrich are considered to be some of the most important of the German Romantic period. However, at the time they were created, Friedrich’s contemplative and tranquil style was often poorly received. Although Friedrich initially found favour among a number of prominent collectors, the Dresden artist soon became overshadowed by painters of the Düsseldorf School. Indeed, it was the Düsseldorf School’s co-founder, Carl Friedrich Lessing, who eventually became the undisputed “star” of German landscape painting. Such a development not only illustrated a change in artistic tastes, but also a fundamental transformation in how people perceived art’s role in society. Caspar David Friedrich still believed that his paintings should serve as a mediator between the viewer and the divine. Whereas the contrasting view saw art as autonomous, serving only itself. It was the latter view which eventually prevailed – and it wasn’t until the end of the 19th century that Friedrich began to be re-evaluated and finally acknowledged as one of the greats in art history.

Yet for all their differences, there was still much that united Caspar David Friedrich with the landscape painters of the Düsseldorf School: not least in terms of their motifs, which ran from Gothic ruins to scenes bathed in moonlight.

The exhibition at the MdbK aims to show you how the painters of the Düsseldorf School initially adopted Friedrich’s style – only to then go their own way within the wider Romantic movement. In order to make the similarities and differences between Friedrich and the Düsseldorfers as tangible as possible, we’ll be comparing paintings of the two styles throughout this tour.

The exhibition CASPAR DAVID FRIEDRICH AND THE DÜSSELDORF ROMANTICISTS is a collaboration between the MdbK and the Kunstpalast Düsseldorf.