Evening 1824

Curator: Standing before us is "Evening," a watercolor on paper created by Caspar David Friedrich around 1824. It's currently housed at the Kunsthalle Mannheim. Editor: The first thing that strikes me is its softness. That dreamy quality comes, I imagine, from the watercolour, which has a beautifully uneven wash effect on the paper. Curator: Indeed. Friedrich, deeply involved with Romanticism, often used light to convey spiritual experiences. Notice how the soft yellows and blues create an almost transcendent mood. The colours used are important when one remembers his intention, his message. Editor: It looks as though he has deployed plein-air to observe the subject with spontaneity. It has a subdued palette with no brilliant color at all. I want to know how Friedrich manipulated the watercolor to get such delicate tones; perhaps thinning the washes? Curator: It evokes a longing, doesn’t it? Think about the symbolism of the sunset itself; its use speaks to mortality, the fleeting nature of time, which was often on Friedrich's mind as he recovered from numerous episodes of depression. Editor: Subdued and humble material application here! One wouldn’t call the artist a watercolour master compared to say, Turner. Yet, somehow that amateur handling makes the light effects seem sincere. The level horizon feels weighed down. Curator: Remember, for Friedrich, landscape wasn't just about accurately depicting nature. It was about reflecting the inner emotional and spiritual landscape of humanity. Each visual element he deploys, from the vast sky to the dark foreground, it’s all symbolic. It speaks volumes. Editor: Perhaps Friedrich was choosing humbler tools like watercolour because he believed it enabled him to observe nature directly, and translate impressions sincerely through portable plein-air sketches like this, thus short-circuiting academic tastes? Curator: Yes, a plausible scenario. I'm intrigued about how the piece creates such a sense of calm resignation. Editor: Me too. Those horizontal streaks really accentuate how far he was removed from Academic expectations. Thank you.