| The Monk by the Sea | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Caspar David Friedrich |
| Year | 1808–10 |
| Medium | Oil-on-canvas |
| Dimensions | 110 cm × 171.5 cm (43 in × 67.5 in) |
| Location | Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin |
The Monk by the Sea (German: Der Mönch am Meer) is an oil painting by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich. It was painted between 1808 and 1810 in Dresden and was first shown together with the painting The Abbey in the Oakwood (Abtei im Eichwald) in the Berlin Academy exhibition of 1810. On Friedrich's request The Monk by the Sea was hung above The Abbey in the Oakwood.[1] After the exhibition, both pictures were bought by king Frederick Wilhelm III for his collection.[2] Today, the paintings hang side by side in the Alte Nationalgalerie, Berlin.[3]
For its lack of concern with creating the illusion of depth, The Monk by the Sea was Friedrich's most radical composition. The broad expanses of sea and sky emphasize the meager figure of the monk, standing before the vastness of nature and the presence of God.[4]
- ^ Held: Romantik, 2003, p. 81.
- ^ Friedrich, Norbert Wolf, Taschen, p. 31.
- ^ "Mönch am Meer". Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (Berlin State Museums) (in German). Retrieved 2024-05-14.
- ^ van Prooyen, Kristina. The Realm of the Spirit: Caspar David Friedrich's artwork in the context of romantic theology, with special reference to Friedrich Schleiermacher Journal of the Oxford University History Society, Winter 2004.