The Sea of Ice
Encyclopedia
The Sea of Ice also called The Wreck of Hope is an oil painting
of 1823–1824 by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich
.
, whose edges jut into the sky.
The stern of the wreck is just visible on the right. As an inscription on it confirms, this is HMS Griper, one of two ships that took part in William Edward Parry
's 1819–1820 and 1824 expeditions to the North Pole
.
In Friedrich's estate this work was described as Ice Picture. The Disaster-stricken North Pole Expedition.
commissioned two pictures that were to symbolize the south and the north. Johann Martin von Rohden
received the commission to paint Southern Nature in her Abundant and Majestic Splendor, while the commission for Northern Nature in the whole of her Terrifying Beauty fell to Friedrich. However, as Schukowski in a letter dated 1821 reported, Friedrich -
Accounts of expeditions to the North Pole were occasionally published during those years which is likely how Friedrich became familiar with William Edward Parry
's 1819–1820 expedition to find the Northwest Passage
. In the winter of 1820–21, Friedrich made extensive oil studies of ice floes on the river Elbe
, near Dresden
. These were probably incorporated into The Sea of Ice.
in 1834, which he described as follows:
Overall, however, the work was seen as too radical in composition, and went unsold until after Friedrich's death in 1840.
From the twentieth century the work has proved extremely influential upon the arctic landscapes of Lawren Harris
, and directly influenced Paul Nash
's painting Totes Meer. The painting has been hailed by critic Russell Potter
as a key instance of the "Arctic Sublime," and an influence on later nineteenth-century polar paintings by Frederic Edwin Church
and William Bradford
.
Oil painting
Oil painting is the process of painting with pigments that are bound with a medium of drying oil—especially in early modern Europe, linseed oil. Often an oil such as linseed was boiled with a resin such as pine resin or even frankincense; these were called 'varnishes' and were prized for their body...
of 1823–1824 by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich
Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...
.
Description
The landscape depicts a shipwreck in the middle of a broken ice-sheet, whose shards have piled up after the impact. The ice has become like a monolithic tomb, or dolmenDolmen
A dolmen—also known as a portal tomb, portal grave, dolmain , cromlech , anta , Hünengrab/Hünenbett , Adamra , Ispun , Hunebed , dös , goindol or quoit—is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of...
, whose edges jut into the sky.
The stern of the wreck is just visible on the right. As an inscription on it confirms, this is HMS Griper, one of two ships that took part in William Edward Parry
William Edward Parry
Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...
's 1819–1820 and 1824 expeditions to the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
.
Title
The two titles originally referred to the present work and another older work by Friedrich, now missing. The lost painting was shown in 1822 at the Dresden Academy exhibition under the title A Wrecked Ship off the Coast of Greenland in the Moonlight. Own Invention. The present painting was first shown in 1824 at the Prague Academy exhibition under the title An Idealized Scene of an Arctic Sea, with a Wrecked Ship on the Heaped Masses of Ice.In Friedrich's estate this work was described as Ice Picture. The Disaster-stricken North Pole Expedition.
History
The collector Johann Gottlob von QuandtJohann Gottlob von Quandt
Johann Gottlob von Quandt was a German artist, art scholar and collector.Von Quandt was born at Leipzig. He had met and corresponded with Goethe....
commissioned two pictures that were to symbolize the south and the north. Johann Martin von Rohden
Johann Martin von Rohden
Johann Martin von Rohden was a German painter active for most of his career in Rome.Son of a merchant, von Rohden began his studies at the Kunstakademie in Kassel, remaining there until 1795. At seventeen he went to Rome with a friend who had won a travel grant for artists from the Landgrave of...
received the commission to paint Southern Nature in her Abundant and Majestic Splendor, while the commission for Northern Nature in the whole of her Terrifying Beauty fell to Friedrich. However, as Schukowski in a letter dated 1821 reported, Friedrich -
Accounts of expeditions to the North Pole were occasionally published during those years which is likely how Friedrich became familiar with William Edward Parry
William Edward Parry
Sir William Edward Parry was an English rear-admiral and Arctic explorer, who in 1827 attempted one of the earliest expeditions to the North Pole...
's 1819–1820 expedition to find the Northwest Passage
Northwest Passage
The Northwest Passage is a sea route through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways amidst the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans...
. In the winter of 1820–21, Friedrich made extensive oil studies of ice floes on the river Elbe
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
, near Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. These were probably incorporated into The Sea of Ice.
Reception and influence
The image created a lasting impression on the French sculptor David d'Angers during his visit to DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
in 1834, which he described as follows:
Overall, however, the work was seen as too radical in composition, and went unsold until after Friedrich's death in 1840.
From the twentieth century the work has proved extremely influential upon the arctic landscapes of Lawren Harris
Lawren Harris
Lawren Stewart Harris, CC was a Canadian painter. He was born in Brantford, Ontario and is best known as a member the Group of Seven who pioneered a distinctly Canadian painting style in the early twentieth century. A. Y. Jackson has been quoted as saying that Harris provided the stimulus for the...
, and directly influenced Paul Nash
Paul Nash (artist)
Paul Nash was a British landscape painter, surrealist and war artist, as well as a book-illustrator, writer and designer of applied art. He was the older brother of the artist John Nash.-Early life:...
's painting Totes Meer. The painting has been hailed by critic Russell Potter
Russell Potter
Russell A. Potter is an American writer and college professor. His work encompasses Hip hop culture, popular music, and the history of British exploration of the Arctic in the nineteenth century...
as a key instance of the "Arctic Sublime," and an influence on later nineteenth-century polar paintings by Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church
Frederic Edwin Church was an American landscape painter born in Hartford, Connecticut. He was a central figure in the Hudson River School of American landscape painters...
and William Bradford
William Bradford (painter)
William Bradford was an American romanticist painter, photographer and explorer, originally from Fairhaven, Massachusetts, near New Bedford....
.