At full sail, mystically shrouded in mist, the ship steers its path over the dark water. The line of the horizon is hidden in the haze, blurring the transition from sea to sky.
Caspar David Friedrich meticulously sketched in masts and rigging in an underdrawing, reproducing the ship in exceptional detail, almost as if he wanted to capture its individual character – a portrait of a ship.
He frequently painted sailing ships, often taking them as a symbol for human fate. He compared a ship setting out to sea with the start of the journey through life, and arrival in harbour as life’s end. This ship can be read as a symbol of the Christian church. Have you noticed the tiny figure on board? The ship will carry the person safely through the uncertainties and dangers of the sea of life. The masts point to the sky, which gradually becomes lighter until the haze opens where the wind catches the flag – for Friedrich, a symbol of a confident faith.
The compositional structure is reminiscent of Friedrich’s cathedral painting, since there the motif also gradually becomes lighter as it rises. If you turn round, you’ll see that painting in the display opposite. There, the cathedral’s spires – like the sails here – point to a source of light promising comfort and salvation.
In our room on Caspar David Friedrich’s painting technique, we are showing a copy of this picture. It illustrates how Friedrich started a painting by drawing on a primed canvas, and then formed his picture in oils over it.
- Material & Technique
- Oil on canvas
- Museum
- Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz
- Dating
- around 1815
- Inventory number
- Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, Inv.-Nr. 215