Caspar David Friedrich's Letters and Writings – the Complete Edition in One Volume

250th Birthday on September 5th

While Caspar David Friedrich is world-famous as an artist, his diverse writings – including letters, art essays, and poems – are still being discovered. For the first time, this volume presents a historically critical and extensively annotated edition of all his letters and writings.

Friedrich's letters, of which more than a hundred have survived, accompany the various phases of his life and document the demanding intellectual environment in which his works were created. His diary-like entries, aphoristic notes, and poems also provide insightful glimpses into the painter's thought process. In particular, a comprehensive manuscript – the "Remarks on Viewing a Collection of Paintings" – opens up perspectives for engaging with his works, which are now seen as symbols of German Romanticism. This comprehensive edition, prepared according to scholarly standards, provides a reliable basis for a reevaluation of Caspar David Friedrich's letters and writings and relates them to his artistic oeuvre.

"Can painting or any art ever be exhausted?" – Caspar David Friedrich. It opens new avenues to the works of the most renowned Romantic artist with detailed commentary that situates Friedrich within the networks and discussions of his time. Essential for understanding Caspar David Friedrich and his world.