Caspar David Friedrich paintings on display again

After three years of restauration the two most important paintings of german romanticism by Caspar David Friedrich are on display again in the alte Nationalgalerie.

Caspar David Friedrich, Selfportrait 1810

Up to seven layers of old varnish had to be removed according to supervising restaurator Kristina Mösl.
Here you see the two paintings before the restauration with their "famous" "ancient" yellow tint, especially in the Abbey in the Oakwood

But also in the Monk by the Sea

In this article by the Berliner Morgenpost you can scroll between the restaurated and the yellowed condition.

But not only the old layers of varnish were a difficulty: the paintings had even been treated with a pressing iron in 1906 to glue them to a second layer of canvas. The hot iron left damages on both paintings.

Kristina Mösl could proof during the restauration that the canvas for both paintings came from the same roll of cloth, which supports the idea that Friedrich intended them as a pair (both paintings were painted between 1808 and 1810).

Furthermore it was found out per infrared that Friedrich painted over three already layed in ships in "the Monk by the Sea" to underline the loneliness of the monk.

In a telecast by the Tagesschau there's a short glimpse of those infrared scans.

As the director of the Alte Nationalgalerie, Philipp Demandt explains:"we want to get up close to the old Caspar David Friedrich".

A small theme based exhibition accompanies the return of the two paintings and can be visited
from Tuesday-Sunday 10 A.M.- 6 P.M. thursdays 10 A.M. - 8 PM. till May 22nd,
Alte Nationalgalerie, Bodestr.1-3.