(b. 1774, Greifswald, d. 1840, Dresden)

Mountainous River Landscape (Day Version) 1830-35 Mixed media on transparent paper, 77 x 127 cm Staatliche Museen, Kassel

In 1830 Friedrich was commissioned by Alexander, the heir to the Russian throne, to produce four transparent pictures. Executed on transparent paper and lit from behind in a dark room, the pictures would be viewed as an ensemble to the accompaniment of music. In 1835 the four transparent pictures were dispatched to St Petersburg together with the equipment needed to display them - unfortunately, they are now lost. In Kassel, however, a similar example survives, a Mountainous River Landscape painted on both sides of a single piece of transparent paper. When correctly lit, one side reveals itself to be a version of the composition seen in daylight, while the other side portrays the same scene at night.

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Author: FRIEDRICH, Caspar David Title: Mountainous River Landscape (Day Version) Form: graphics Time-line: 1801-1850 School: German