Editing Caspar David Friedrich (section)

===Move to Dresden===

Friedrich settled permanently in Dresden in 1798. During this early period, he experimented in [[printmaking]] with [[etching]]s{{sfn|Vaughan|2004|p=48}} and designs for [[woodcut]]s which his furniture-maker brother cut. By 1804 he had produced 18 etchings and four woodcuts; they were apparently made in small numbers and only distributed to friends.{{sfn|Griffiths|Carey|1994|p=206}} Despite these forays into other media, he gravitated toward working primarily with [[India ink|ink]], [[watercolour]] and [[sepia (color)|sepia]]s. With the exception of a few early pieces, such as ''[[commons:File:LandscapewithTempleinRuin1797.jpg|Landscape with Temple in Ruins]]'' (1797), he did not work extensively with [[oil painting|oils]] until his reputation was more established.{{sfn|Vaughan|2004|p=41}}

Landscapes were his preferred subject, inspired by frequent trips, beginning in 1801, to the [[Baltic coast]], [[Bohemia]], the [[Krkonoše]] and the [[Harz Mountains]].{{sfn|Johnston|Leppien|Monrad|1999|p=45}} Mostly based on the landscapes of northern Germany, his paintings depict woods, hills, harbors, morning mists and other light effects based on a close observation of nature. These works were modeled on sketches and studies of scenic spots, such as the cliffs on [[Rügen]], the surroundings of Dresden and the river [[Elbe]]. He executed his studies almost exclusively in pencil, even providing topographical information, yet the subtle atmospheric effects characteristic of Friedrich's mid-period paintings were rendered from memory.{{sfn|Johnston|Leppien|Monrad|1999|p=106}} These effects took their strength from the depiction of light, and of the illumination of sun and moon on clouds and water: optical phenomena peculiar to the Baltic coast that had never before been painted with such an emphasis.{{sfn|Johnston|Leppien|Monrad|1999|p=14}}

[[File:Caspar David Friedrich - Das Kreuz im Gebirge.jpg|thumb|left|''[[Cross in the Mountains (Tetschen Altar)]]'' (1808). 115 × 110.5&nbsp;cm. {{lang|de|[[Galerie Neue Meister]]|italic=no}}, Dresden. Friedrich's first major work, the piece breaks with the traditional representation of [[Crucifixion in the arts|crucifixion]] in altarpieces by depicting the scene as a landscape.]]

His reputation as an artist was established when he won a prize in 1805 at the Weimar competition organised by [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]. At the time, the Weimar competition tended to draw mediocre and now-forgotten artists presenting derivative mixtures of neo-classical and pseudo-Greek styles. The poor quality of the entries began to prove damaging to Goethe's reputation, so when Friedrich entered two sepia drawings—''Procession at Dawn'' and ''Fisher-Folk by the Sea''—the poet responded enthusiastically and wrote, "We must praise the artist's resourcefulness in this picture fairly. The drawing is well done, the procession is ingenious and appropriate&nbsp;... his treatment combines a great deal of firmness, diligence and neatness&nbsp;... the ingenious watercolour&nbsp;... is also worthy of praise."{{sfn|Siegel|1978|pp=43–44}}

Friedrich completed the first of his major paintings in 1808, at the age of 34. ''[[Cross in the Mountains (Tetschen Altar)|Cross in the Mountains]]'', today known as the ''Tetschen Altar'', is an [[altarpiece]] panel said to have been commissioned for a family chapel in [[Děčín|Tetschen]], [[Bohemia]].{{sfn|Koerner|2002|pp=56–61}} The panel depicts a cross in profile at the top of a mountain, alone, and surrounded by pine trees.{{sfn|Koerner|2002|p=47}}

Although the altarpiece was generally coldly received, it was Friedrich's first painting to receive wide publicity. The artist's friends publicly defended the work, while art critic [[Basilius von Ramdohr]] published a long article challenging Friedrich's use of landscape in a religious context. He rejected the idea that landscape painting could convey explicit meaning, writing that it would be "a veritable presumption, if landscape painting were to sneak into the church and creep onto the altar".{{sfn|Vaughan|1980|p=7}} Friedrich responded with a programme describing his intentions in 1809, comparing the rays of the evening sun to the light of the [[God the Father|Holy Father]].{{sfn|Johnston|Leppien|Monrad|1999|p=116}} This statement marked the only time Friedrich recorded a detailed interpretation of his own work, and the painting was among the few commissions the artist ever received.{{sfn|Siegel|1978|pp=55–56}}

[[File:Rocky Landscape in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains - Caspar David Friedrich - Google Cultural Institute.jpg|thumbnail|''Rocky Landscape in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains'' (1822–1823)]]

Following the purchase of two of his paintings by the Prussian Crown Prince, Friedrich was elected a member of the [[Prussian Academy of Sciences|Berlin Academy]] in 1810.{{sfn|Vaughan|1980|p=101}} Yet in 1816, he sought to distance himself from Prussian authority and applied that June for Saxon citizenship. The move was not expected; the Saxon government was pro-French, while Friedrich's paintings were seen as generally patriotic and distinctly anti-French. Nevertheless, with the aid of his Dresden-based friend Graf Vitzthum von Eckstädt, Friedrich attained citizenship, and in 1818, membership in the Saxon Academy with a yearly dividend of 150 [[thalers]].{{sfn|Vaughan|2004|pp=165–166}} Although he had hoped to receive a full professorship, it was never awarded him as, according to the German Library of Information, "it was felt that his painting was too personal, his point of view too individual to serve as a fruitful example to students."{{sfn|Schmitz|1940|pp=38–40}} Politics too may have played a role in stalling his career: Friedrich's decidedly Germanic subjects and costuming frequently clashed with the era's prevailing pro-French attitudes.{{sfn|Vaughan|2004|pp=184–185}}