Moon in Painting ~ Blog of an Art Admirer

Sunday

Moon in Painting

Caspar David Friedrich, Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon

A few fun facts on Caspar David Friedrich (mentalfloss.com):

1. Friedrich created several paintings with this same general theme and composition. The most well-known of the other versions is “Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon” (1824), which even features the same tree.

2. The first owner, Dr. Otto Friedrich Rosenberg, received the painting from the artist himself in exchange for medical attention. The good doctor can rest in peace knowing he received adequate payment for his skill; in 1999, Artemis Fine Arts (NY) purchased the painting at Christie’s (London) for £771,500 (~$1,277,000).

3. Friedrich is considered by many to be Germany’s greatest Romantic painter, although at the time of his death, he had been mostly forgotten. Only with the rise of Symbolism, in the late 19th century, did people begin to fully appreciate his work.