Retrospective: The Anniversary
He is the most important artist of German Romanticism and continues to inspire to this day: Caspar David Friedrich. Born in Greifswald in 1774, the free spirit and visionary celebrated his 250th birthday in 2024. On the occasion of this noteworthy anniversary, the Pomeranian State Museum dedicated a varied programme to him from March to December 2024. Three consecutive special exhibitions brought together the museum's extensive collection with prestigious loans from national and international museums - and thus offered the opportunity to delve into paintings and drawings by the exceptional artist for almost the entire anniversary year. A particular highlight was the iconic masterpiece "Chalk Cliffs on Rügen", which for the first time ever was on display in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. In addition to encountering the originals, visitors could expect a walk through the entire museum from March 2024 with interactive stages and so dip into Friedrich's life, work and epoch in an innovative way.
From the forecourt to the Museums road
250 Steps towards Caspar David Friedrich
March – December 2024
Inspired by Friedrich's hikes, from March 2024 onward the Pomeranian State Museum invites visitors to set out on their own "art journey on foot" independent of the individual art exhibition. Past several interactive stations that encourage creative engagement with Caspar David Friedrich and his period, a specially created route leads from the forecourt onto the Museums road. Even during the remodelling periods when no originals are on display, along this way, an installation of the legendary "blue flower", a treadmill for own walks and a time box concerning the year 1818 can be found. In addition a cabinet exhibition with digital collages by the artist Hiroyuki Masuyama will create a link to the present and place Friedrich's wanderings in contemporary contexts, starting July 2024.
In addition to the exhibitions and festivities in Greifswald, Friedrich will be honoured in 2024 with special shows at the Hamburger Kunsthalle, the Alte Nationalgalerie Berlin and the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen Dresden, to some of which the Pomeranian State Museum will contribute loans. This will be followed in 2025 by a major retrospective at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.