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Just outside Dresden, the multitude of streams and marshy pastureland on the River Elbe’s water meadows shimmer in the evening light; across the river, we see the dark silhouettes of trees and gently rising hills – and above it all a seemingly infinite sky.

Originally from Greifswald, Caspar David Friedrich lived much of his life in Dresden. He knew the area very well, and died here in 1840.

However, although in his day living and working for a time Italy was regarded as a rite of passage for aspiring artists, he never went south of the Alps – a decision not only proving momentous for himself, but for all of nineteenth-century European art. So rather than painting Italian scenes, he focused on the landscape in his home regions – and for him, the Elbe water meadows, the Central German uplands, old castles, and derelict monastery ruins were all worthwhile subjects for his art. Friedrich’s new departure inspired many followers, such as Carl Blechen, Ernst Ferdinand Oehme or Ludwig Richter – and you can also see their romantic landscapes on show here.

Casper David Friedrich’s paintings are carefully composed down to the smallest detail. Even if this scene looks as if it is painted from life, Friedrich did not set up his easel at the riverside. He only made preliminary sketches of a subject on site. Back in his studio, he then worked them up into a pictorial composition, meticulously transferring it to the canvas.

His paintings have an immensely powerful effect – which comes precisely from his conscious choice of artistic devices. Here, he employs just such a device to draw us into the picture – our attention held by two symmetrical arches flowing towards one other, the first formed by the clouds in the evening sky, the second by the riverbank. The scene seems to stretch infinitely to the sides, just as we experience it in nature.