Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Mountain in the Rising Fog
Caspar David Friedrich German
Not on view
From the forested slopes in the foreground our gaze travels to the majestic sweep of the mountains beyond. Friedrich, the preeminent painter of the German Romantic movement, imbued this landscape with symbolic meaning, placing the summit at a remove that evokes a tranquil, timeless realm. On a hiking tour in Bohemia in 1808 he had sketched the Kaltenberg and the nearby peaks; nearly three decades later he transformed the untouched natural beauty of this region to visualize a journey from the earthly to the spiritual. Probably while working on this painting, Friedrich suffered a debilitating stroke that paralyzed his right hand, which may explain why he was unable to complete the work. It is not easy to read the artist’s intent in the foreground, where the negative space between the trees seems to be unpainted and traces of underdrawing are visible.
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