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Lot Essay
Professor Dr. Helmut Börsch-Supan has kindly confirmed the attribution to Friedrich, on the basis of a photograph, in a letter dated 17 November 2001. Professor Börsch-Supan suggests that the drawing may date from Friedrich's journey in the Riesengebirge in 1810 or to the Harz Mountains in 1811.
The handling of black lead in the present drawing, which suggests the changing sky, is very similar to that in a series of studies of clouds over a distant horizon in a sketchbook dated 1806-8 now in the Nationalgalerie, Oslo, H.H. Hofstäter (ed.), Caspar David Friedrich, des Gesamte graphische Werke, Munich, 1983, pp. 389-423. The Oslo studies carry similar colour notes and references suggesting that, as with the present drawing, they were intended to aid the artist's memory when he returned to the studio.
The pages of the Oslo sketchbook, which measure 183 x 117 mm., are smaller than the present lot, but it is likely that this is from a similar album.
The handling of black lead in the present drawing, which suggests the changing sky, is very similar to that in a series of studies of clouds over a distant horizon in a sketchbook dated 1806-8 now in the Nationalgalerie, Oslo, H.H. Hofstäter (ed.), Caspar David Friedrich, des Gesamte graphische Werke, Munich, 1983, pp. 389-423. The Oslo studies carry similar colour notes and references suggesting that, as with the present drawing, they were intended to aid the artist's memory when he returned to the studio.
The pages of the Oslo sketchbook, which measure 183 x 117 mm., are smaller than the present lot, but it is likely that this is from a similar album.