Friedrich was the leading exponent of the German Romantics, a movement which returned to nature and landscape to express the feelings of the characters.

In this sad and desolate, but very beautiful Easter dawn, in which the moon is still lighting the sky, the painter has placed leafless trees to frame the scene on both sides. In the centre, three women are walling towards the tomb of Jesus. They are the Three Marys of the Gospel: Mary Magdalene, Mary Salomé and Mary Cleophas, who look as despondent as the landscape around them.

Freidrich´s works are full of symbolism. The moon is related to death, a subject that obsessed the painter. He suffered many family losses during his childhood: his mother and several brothers and sisters died, one of them drowning when trying to save Friedrich, who had fallen through ice. The beginning of Spring stands for the hope of Resurrection.

Friedrich was a liberal, and he suffered the invasion of Germany by Napoleon’s troops and its subsequent division into Prussia and Austria, with the restoration of the monarchy and the conservative government, which was a profound disappointment to him. One frequently finds in his work references to nationalist and anti-Napoleonic sentiments, such as the old German costume that he preferred to the French fashion of the time.



(c) (R) 2013, MUSMon com S.L.
Text (a) Catalina Serrano Romero

Picture
Source: Wikimedia Commons
Author: JarekUploadBot
Permission: This artwork is in the public domain: The author of this artwork died more than 70 years ago. According to E.U. Copyright Law, copyright expires 70 years after the author's death. In other countries, legislation may differ.