Sunburst in the Riesengebirge, Caspar David Friedrich
Sunlight bursts over distant hills as a blue sky dispels gathering storm clouds. The hut at top left indicates a human presence within this vast landscape. Caspar David Friedrich based this scene on the Riesengebirge, a mountain range on the present-day border of the Czech Republic and Poland. Friedrich hiked in this area in 1810, nearly 25 years before he painted this work. Elements of the landscape held strong symbolism for Friedrich and his audience. The fir tree represented life and vitality; the dead tree, mortality; and the illuminated hills, an aspiration toward the promise of eternity.
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