Caspar David Friedrich - Der Friedhof - 1825

   

Carl August Böttiger, who saw the emerging work in 1825 during a visit to Friedrich's studio, reported that "a Leipzig art enthusiast" had ordered it. He further noted, "A fresh grave mound marks the resting place of a child, whose parents are imagined standing at the gate." Presumably commissioned as a memorial for a deceased child, the painting remained unfinished. After Friedrich's death, it became part of his estate. The cemetery gate becomes a symbolic barrier between the earthly world and the realm of death. Blue-gray mist veils lie in the depressions of the hilly cemetery, delineated by parallel pine trunks against the background and an iron gate in the foreground. The sky transitions into a clearer blue upward. Above this deep blue sky, symbols of Christ's suffering and death—crown of thorns, lance, and vinegar sponge on a staff—are positioned, signifying hope for resurrection. The design of the stone gateposts draws on Friedrich's own drafts for tombstones. The entire entrance situation recalls the Trinitatis Cemetery in Dresden, where Caspar David Friedrich found his final resting place in 1840.

Source: 250 Jahre Caspar David Friedrich