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Taschen Basic Art
Friedrich
Sublime Capturing nature's moody splendor The solitude of man and the bleak beauty of nature are prominent themes in the work of Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), the great romantic painter whose importance and influence have often been underestimated. Now widely considered to be the most important German artist of his generation, Friedrich died in obscurity and wasn’t fully appreciated until the early 20th century. An important precursor to the Expressionists, Friedrich once wrote that an artist must "close your bodily eye so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring to the light of day that which you have seen in the darkness so that it may react upon others from the outside inwards." About the
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series
Each book in TASCHEN’s Basic Art series
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
18 people are currently reading
245 people want to read
About the author
Norbert Wolf
103 books10 followersNorbert Wolf is an art historian and author based in Munich. He has published several books with Prestel, including "Art Nouveau", "Art Deco", "Impressionism", "Spanish Painting", and "The Golden Age of Dutch and Flemish Painting", as well as monographs on Albrecht Dürer and Titian.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
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June 17, 2020Διαβάστε την εικονογραφημένη ελληνική κριτική στις βιβλιοαλχημείες
After two novels with depressive themes (The God of Small Things, The Kite Runner) I wanted to read something completely different, not even fiction.
So I chose this book from the famous Art publishing House, Taschen.
It all began in December 2011 when I bought a Vintage edition of The Woman in Black with a very spooky cover.
One of the few books that genuinely scared me sending shivers down my spine.
With time I slowly began to recognise quite a few covers of classic books that were depicting sublime, gothic, and incredible paintings.
I found out of course that they were all done by the same creator.
The most important artist of the German Romanticism.
Caspar David Friedrich
In addition to all this, when I visited the National Gallery in London last year and saw in person one of his paintings, I creamed my pants.
Winter Landscape with Church
So when I returned back home, I ordered this book. Since it was less than 100 pages I read it and enjoyed it in less than 24h.
It is about his life and work, illustrated of course with many of his paintings.
He was born September 1774 in the German town of Greifswald then part of the Swedish Empire.
A small seaside town on the shores of the Baltic Sea.
He experience death from a very young and tender life, something we see as a recurring theme in his paintings quite a lot: (graveyards, ruins, snow, nights, and sunsets).
He began his studies in Copenhagen in 1794.
Four years later he returned back to Greifswald and in the same year he moved to Dresden where he will spend a great part of his remaining life.
I always preferred natural landscapes over portraits and interior scenes.
And Friedrich was doing exactly that.
Out of his 130+ works only 2 depicted interior scenes and 7 were portraits.
On these two occasions where the scene was an interior one, we are able to see a window with the outside world visible.
In other words the outside world and nature in general were (almost) always parts of his art.
I now can say that Friedrich belongs to my Pantheon of Painters along with Dali.
May 13, 2019
Estos librinos de Taschen son una delicia, porque nos permiten tener una pequeña colección de grandes artistas, sin necesidad de apilar esos tomos enormes de tapa dura que tanto cuestan y ocupan. A ver, que si uno es muy muy muy fan de un pintor puede rascarse el bolsillo alegremente, pero estos, para ir empezando, son cojonudos.
August 7, 2013
I bought this the weekend before last at the National Gallery. This book is a wonderful collection of his works. The painting are reproduced in large size and good quality and I found it easy to loose myself in them. Some of the juxtapositions of the paintings together on a page were really striking. However, I can't give the book 5 stars cause I found the text terrible. I admit I can't stand art history and art criticism. I was interested in the biographical details of Fredrich's life but the interpretations I found ruined the paintings somewhat so after a couple chapters I gave up reading in much detail and just skimmed. Still it was a beautiful book at a very reasonable cost and I'm really glad I bought it.
July 23, 2018
The Wanderer above a Sea of Mist is the name of a quite popular painting, popular in a sense that a fair number of books have used it on the cover, possibly due to its awe-inspiring juxtaposition of the sprawling landscape and a young man with his back facing us. What is striking is the “cosmic loneliness”(I ran into this phrase when reading Bertrand Russell and it stuck. :P) evoked from this confrontation between men and nature, and the induced contemplation on this eternal confrontation.
It was a chance event when I discovered that the painting is the work of Casper David Friedrich(1774-1840), one of the most prominent painters of German Romanticism. Some have recognized him as the master who has revealed the “tragedy of landscape”. An anecdote concerning the great Goethe, gives a glimpse of Friedrich’s artistic pursuit and his uncompromising stance as a conscious seeker of the truth. He famously declined to illustrate clouds at Goethe’s request when at the time they both lived in Dresden. While Goethe was then conducting the scientific studies on clouds, only asking for an honest copy of clouds in nature, Friedrich believed that “art must issue from man’s interior, and depends on his moral and religious worth.” Such belief set him apart from the classic painters who prioritized the authentic/honest depiction of nature as nature appeared to them.
Death has been the leitmotif of his landscape paintings, though it does not suggest hopelessness, as “[d]eath is the romanticizing principle of our life. Death is – life. Life is strengthened by death”. Such profound obsession with death could be explained by the tragic deaths of his mother, two sisters and a brother when he was merely a child. Later as his own death approached, he studied the subject matter even more closely by giving center stage to tombs and graveyards in his paintings.
Apart from being a painter, Friedrich was also an educator. He has emphatically pronounced: “Is there not an enormous narrow-mindedness and arrogance to the belief that one can and may burden young people with one’s view and opinions?” As a tutor myself, I find it rather amusing(不禁笑出了声_(:з」∠)_).
Finally, I want to give TASCHEN credit for publishing the series of Basic Art. Along with beautiful pictures of paintings of good quality, the artist’s life story is told in a way that informs the either formal or substantial changes in his/her works. Moreover, if you are interested in history or art history, you’re in luck. The social and political background forms the bedrock of the series, to which I attribute the Germans’ firm belief in historicism, whether they are conscious of it or not (tongue-in-cheek_(:з」∠)_).
It was a chance event when I discovered that the painting is the work of Casper David Friedrich(1774-1840), one of the most prominent painters of German Romanticism. Some have recognized him as the master who has revealed the “tragedy of landscape”. An anecdote concerning the great Goethe, gives a glimpse of Friedrich’s artistic pursuit and his uncompromising stance as a conscious seeker of the truth. He famously declined to illustrate clouds at Goethe’s request when at the time they both lived in Dresden. While Goethe was then conducting the scientific studies on clouds, only asking for an honest copy of clouds in nature, Friedrich believed that “art must issue from man’s interior, and depends on his moral and religious worth.” Such belief set him apart from the classic painters who prioritized the authentic/honest depiction of nature as nature appeared to them.
Death has been the leitmotif of his landscape paintings, though it does not suggest hopelessness, as “[d]eath is the romanticizing principle of our life. Death is – life. Life is strengthened by death”. Such profound obsession with death could be explained by the tragic deaths of his mother, two sisters and a brother when he was merely a child. Later as his own death approached, he studied the subject matter even more closely by giving center stage to tombs and graveyards in his paintings.
Apart from being a painter, Friedrich was also an educator. He has emphatically pronounced: “Is there not an enormous narrow-mindedness and arrogance to the belief that one can and may burden young people with one’s view and opinions?” As a tutor myself, I find it rather amusing(不禁笑出了声_(:з」∠)_).
Finally, I want to give TASCHEN credit for publishing the series of Basic Art. Along with beautiful pictures of paintings of good quality, the artist’s life story is told in a way that informs the either formal or substantial changes in his/her works. Moreover, if you are interested in history or art history, you’re in luck. The social and political background forms the bedrock of the series, to which I attribute the Germans’ firm belief in historicism, whether they are conscious of it or not (tongue-in-cheek_(:з」∠)_).
June 13, 2024
A nice and standard TASCHEN art history of the leading romantic painter David Caspar Friedrich. Richly illustrated. Mix of biography and descriptions/interpretations of his most famous artwork in the flowering cliché rich language preferred by art historians.
March 17, 2022
Cómo te amo, Caspar D. Friedrich, a vos y al Romanticismo.
February 4, 2024
The text and information are very nice but looking at some of the larger pictures is very difficult due to being split between pages
April 10, 2024
Gives a general overview of the artist's life, some notes on artists who influenced him and he worked with, and a few notes on process. Contains a good number of works with good quality pictures, often with notes on where the piece is (or was, at time of publishing). Does not cite any sources, so it's unclear where this information comes from.
July 22, 2024
Good quality pictures, and a decent introduction to the life and works of C.D. Friedrich. It would have been nicer with more pictures in the bigger format, but maybe that wouldn’t be the “basic” edition.
The text is (sadly) obviously a translation, and the book deserves a better one.
The text is (sadly) obviously a translation, and the book deserves a better one.
August 20, 2025
კიდევ ასჯერ და ათასჯერ წავიკითხავ, აქ უბრალოდ ჩემი სიმპათიის დაფიქსირება მინდოდა.
December 28, 2024
In Ing
Caspar David Friedrich è il mio artista preferito. Questo libro l’ho apprezzato in quanto mi ha dato delle nuove informazioni riguardo all’artista e alla sua vita, ma parlando puramente delle riflessioni artistiche lo si può definire un prodotto che manca di qualcosa, eccetto alcune opere trattate bene. È un po’ superficiale, basta dire che ha dedicato meno di una pagina al “Viandante sul mare di nebbia”, e anche questa molto banale e senza cuore. Non parlo neanche della conclusione, completamente anti climatica e inconcludente da far ribrezzo.
Volevo più tatto, Friedrich è molto più di questo. Ma fosse la superficialità poetica la cosa peggiore.. il vero problema è che Taschen ha preferito concentrare molte parti del testo sul contesto politico e di guerra del tempo rispetto al significato profondo delle opere in sé. Sarà forse stato che l’ho letto in inglese, mi è risultato lunghissimo, tedioso e noioso. Ovvio, l’operato di Friedrich è stato sicuramente influenzato da ciò, ma secondo me più che dai conflitti religiosi o comunque dagli eventi salienti di guerra l’artista tedesco ha sentito molto di più i cambiamenti filosofici e culturali, l’avvento dello Sturm und Drang e il Romanticismo, che si opponevano al precedente classicismo. Lo si può infatti considerare uno dei rappresentanti dei due movimenti, i quali nel libricino Taschen sono molto meno approfonditi del contesto politico e di guerra, erroraccio.
In generale però non è stata una cattiva lettura, perché ci sono delle parti molto belle e delicate, certo bilanciate da tante altre mancanze. Nel complesso lo reputo un lavoro insufficiente, soprattutto per il finale e per la mancata chiusura di un cerchio poetico. Peccato.
“The sort of landscape in which Friedrich was chiefly interested, however, was never a simple imitation of nature, but the result of a complicated interplay of visual impression and mental and emotional reflection…
…Friedrich was never concerned with naturalistic impressions, but rather with "moodscapes", with pictorial spaces that resonate in the psyche. In Friedrich's own words, a picture must be seelenvoll - literally "full of soul" - in its effect if it is to meet the requirement of a true work of art.
A composition based closely upon life or constructed according to academic rules might be "exemplary", but will fail to truly stir the viewer.”
Caspar David Friedrich è il mio artista preferito. Questo libro l’ho apprezzato in quanto mi ha dato delle nuove informazioni riguardo all’artista e alla sua vita, ma parlando puramente delle riflessioni artistiche lo si può definire un prodotto che manca di qualcosa, eccetto alcune opere trattate bene. È un po’ superficiale, basta dire che ha dedicato meno di una pagina al “Viandante sul mare di nebbia”, e anche questa molto banale e senza cuore. Non parlo neanche della conclusione, completamente anti climatica e inconcludente da far ribrezzo.
Volevo più tatto, Friedrich è molto più di questo. Ma fosse la superficialità poetica la cosa peggiore.. il vero problema è che Taschen ha preferito concentrare molte parti del testo sul contesto politico e di guerra del tempo rispetto al significato profondo delle opere in sé. Sarà forse stato che l’ho letto in inglese, mi è risultato lunghissimo, tedioso e noioso. Ovvio, l’operato di Friedrich è stato sicuramente influenzato da ciò, ma secondo me più che dai conflitti religiosi o comunque dagli eventi salienti di guerra l’artista tedesco ha sentito molto di più i cambiamenti filosofici e culturali, l’avvento dello Sturm und Drang e il Romanticismo, che si opponevano al precedente classicismo. Lo si può infatti considerare uno dei rappresentanti dei due movimenti, i quali nel libricino Taschen sono molto meno approfonditi del contesto politico e di guerra, erroraccio.
In generale però non è stata una cattiva lettura, perché ci sono delle parti molto belle e delicate, certo bilanciate da tante altre mancanze. Nel complesso lo reputo un lavoro insufficiente, soprattutto per il finale e per la mancata chiusura di un cerchio poetico. Peccato.
“The sort of landscape in which Friedrich was chiefly interested, however, was never a simple imitation of nature, but the result of a complicated interplay of visual impression and mental and emotional reflection…
…Friedrich was never concerned with naturalistic impressions, but rather with "moodscapes", with pictorial spaces that resonate in the psyche. In Friedrich's own words, a picture must be seelenvoll - literally "full of soul" - in its effect if it is to meet the requirement of a true work of art.
A composition based closely upon life or constructed according to academic rules might be "exemplary", but will fail to truly stir the viewer.”
November 23, 2013
Not a huge book (96 pages) but the quality of the art will
take your breath away - just indescribable. Like Turner,
Friedrich's scope and vision seemed to expand in his later
years. "The Sea of Ice" (1824) is just that but it's real,
it's like you are there. "Hutton's Tomb" (1823) with it's
blending of evening shadows and lowering light, "Chalk Cliffs
on Rugen" (1818) his most famous painting as a couple look
down on the magnificent white mass of cliffs out to sea. "The
Monk on the Sea" (1810) reminds me of some of Turner's more
turbulent landscapes and is considered to be the boldest work
of German romantic painting. "The Ruins of Eldena" (1825) is
a simple (not for me) pencil, ink and watercolour of church
ruins in the dry, hazy summer and at the other end "Mist (1807)
ships are seen veiled in a fog - how did he make it so mysterious??
Caspar Friedrich was called "the mystic with a brush" and "the
painter of stillness" who became more enmeshed in mysticism and
strangeness as he got older.
A terrific feature of the book is that on every other page are
small examples of other landscape artist's work of the period
to show the difference in styles and also how imitated Friedrich
was. This series - Taschen - is so high in quality you will not
be disappointed but it seems to be written only for the serious
art lover and I was very put off by the very heavy text. There
wasn't much on his inspirations or his painting technique - even
much about his life apart from the fact that he was deeply
religious and at different times was very active politically. He
did marry in 1818 - his bride was 25 and he was 44, I'm not sure
whether the union was happy - he described having to buy a "bed
for sin" and as he grew older he became unjustifiably jealous
of her and often spitefully harassed her. He did have children
but, once again in keeping with the book's sketchy biographical
details, they are only mentioned in the chronology at the book's
end. He seemed to have lived a very solitary life, not venturing
very far afield, certainly not to Italy that was like a Holy
Mecca for young German artists of the day.
I have given it 4 out of 5 stars for the dazzling display of
prints.
take your breath away - just indescribable. Like Turner,
Friedrich's scope and vision seemed to expand in his later
years. "The Sea of Ice" (1824) is just that but it's real,
it's like you are there. "Hutton's Tomb" (1823) with it's
blending of evening shadows and lowering light, "Chalk Cliffs
on Rugen" (1818) his most famous painting as a couple look
down on the magnificent white mass of cliffs out to sea. "The
Monk on the Sea" (1810) reminds me of some of Turner's more
turbulent landscapes and is considered to be the boldest work
of German romantic painting. "The Ruins of Eldena" (1825) is
a simple (not for me) pencil, ink and watercolour of church
ruins in the dry, hazy summer and at the other end "Mist (1807)
ships are seen veiled in a fog - how did he make it so mysterious??
Caspar Friedrich was called "the mystic with a brush" and "the
painter of stillness" who became more enmeshed in mysticism and
strangeness as he got older.
A terrific feature of the book is that on every other page are
small examples of other landscape artist's work of the period
to show the difference in styles and also how imitated Friedrich
was. This series - Taschen - is so high in quality you will not
be disappointed but it seems to be written only for the serious
art lover and I was very put off by the very heavy text. There
wasn't much on his inspirations or his painting technique - even
much about his life apart from the fact that he was deeply
religious and at different times was very active politically. He
did marry in 1818 - his bride was 25 and he was 44, I'm not sure
whether the union was happy - he described having to buy a "bed
for sin" and as he grew older he became unjustifiably jealous
of her and often spitefully harassed her. He did have children
but, once again in keeping with the book's sketchy biographical
details, they are only mentioned in the chronology at the book's
end. He seemed to have lived a very solitary life, not venturing
very far afield, certainly not to Italy that was like a Holy
Mecca for young German artists of the day.
I have given it 4 out of 5 stars for the dazzling display of
prints.
August 24, 2009
This was so DRY! Probably the first time anything by Taschen bored me to tears. I have so many from this series and none of them lacked this much personality. Friedrich's paintings, however, are still wonderful.
January 16, 2014
Really nice. Love Friedrich's paintings. Bear in mind, this one is in German. However, it reads quickly, as only 100 pages. Half of the book are painting reproductions, which is perfect. Many are full two pages. Besides, you can get them on amazon.co.uk really cheap. Recommended.
July 6, 2007
I love Caspar's paintings, but the book was slightly not that great.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews