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Over the years, the colour violet developed into one of the most important in Friedrich’s palette – as his painting Ships in the Harbour in the Evening exemplarily shows. Naturally, he applies other colours as well: a spit of land in green, a dark red sail, and golden-orange moonlight. But the dominant colour tone is the dark violet blue, which was also the colour worn by mourners. A diary entry by fellow artist Ludwig Richter from 1824 illustrates just how much Friedrich was associated with this colour. In the entry, Richter compiles a short list of the main colours and the emotions they express. He only linked one colour to a specific artist: “Violet – melancholy (as with Friedrich).”

Friedrich bought his colours in blocks of pigment. In his studio, he then mixed them to a paste with a bonding agent such as linseed oil. Until well into the 1830s, it was rather difficult to transport the mixed colours. They could at most be filled into empty pig’s bladders, though with the disadvantage that the bladders tore easily – perhaps one main reason why Friedrich painted his landscapes in his studio rather than out in the countryside. The paint tube was not patented until 1841, one year after Friedrich’s death. Then, for the first time, tubes of paint enabled artists to work directly from nature on larger paintings as well.