Young Man Lying on a Grave

1798–1804

Etchings and woodcuts

In Dresden Friedrich experiments with etching and makes designs for woodcuts that his furniture-maker brother cuts: by 1804 he has produced 18 etchings and four woodcuts, apparently in small numbers and distributed only to friends. His main media remain ink, watercolour and sepia, and he does not work extensively in oils until his reputation is more established.

from 1801

Trips in search of motifs from 1801

From 1801 Friedrich makes frequent trips in search of motifs to the Baltic coast, Bohemia, the Krkonoše and the Harz Mountains. He makes his studies almost exclusively in pencil, with topographical notes, while the subtle atmospheric effects that become his trademark are painted later from memory.

1805

Wins Goethe’s Weimar competition

With two sepia drawings, “Procession at Dawn” and “Fisher-Folk by the Sea”, Friedrich wins the competition organised by Goethe in Weimar. The poet, whose reputation was suffering from the poor quality of the entries, responds enthusiastically to the artist’s resourcefulness, and the success establishes Friedrich’s reputation.