The Genius of Caspar David Friedrich: German Art in the Hermitage Collection

On 20 April, 2002, an exhibition of German art of the 19th century opened in the Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House in London, Great Britain. The exhibition shows twelve masterpieces of Caspar David Friedrich from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum and a few works of his contemporaries. Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840), the leader of the German romantic painting, is especially known for his symbolic and dream-like landscapes. Friedrich and his contemporaries are hardly at all represented in European collections. The Hermitage is a rare and lucky exception to this rule, possessing one of his best collections (nine paintings and six drawings) of which Sailing-ship, Harbor at Night and Moonrise over the Sea, showed in the exhibit, are incontestable masterpieces of the great romantic artist.
The exhibition is a due commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the inauguration of the New Hermitage (1852) which became one of the most important events of the reign of Nicholas I. The rich collection of German art was put together by Nicholas I and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna, sister of Friedrich Wilhelm IV of Prussia. Alongside Friedrich's works which make up the core of the exhibition, gouaches of Adolf Menzel (1815-1865) are showed. Menzel was recommended to Alexandra Fedorovna by her brother Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Among the exhibits also are paintings of Friedrich Johann Overbeck (1789-1869), Josef Anton Koch (1768-1839) and Leo von Klenze (1784-1864), architect of the New Hermitage.
The Hermitage collection of German painters of the 19th century is the largest and most remarkable outside Germany. It includes over 300 works one third of which come from Imperial palaces in St. Petersburg and its environs. This collection provides a fair representation of the 19th century German painting; alongside C.D. Friedrich's chefs d'oeuvre, it includes works of members of the leading German schools, those of Berlin, Munich and Duesseldorf. However, the Hermitage Rooms at Somerset House are not big enough for such a representative show. Because of this, paintings were selected with a view to remind of the creator of the New Hermitage and give an idea of the artistic tastes and interests of Nicholas I and his family.
The exhibition is kindly supported by Donald and Jean Kahn.

The catalogue