Reinhard Wegner: Caspar David Friedrich. Gravestones of old heroes. A study of the political image

Description

Caspar David Friedrich's painting Tombs of Ancient Heroes was created at a time of great tension during the Napoleonic Wars. With this work, we encounter the painter as a politically-minded and historically-argued artist whose messages go far beyond the legibility of natural phenomena and the staging of atmospheric landscapes.

Newly discovered sources provide us with deeper insights into his understanding of images. They bear witness to his interest in the philosophical and literary aspects of art, but also in the military and technological issues of the time, thus enriching our knowledge of other facets of his art.