The Painter 252 in Reimer’s possession under the title A Prison (fig. 4). It illustrates Friedrich’s concerns45 and also refers to the events of 1823. The fact that the anniversary of the Wars of Liberation in 1823 coincided with the 300th anniversary of the death of Ulrich von Hutten had a special significance for Friedrich’s painting Hutten’s Grave (fig. 5). In 1821, Reimer started publishing a multi-volume complete edition of Hutten’s writings,46 which led to conflicts with the censors and therefore ended with the fifth volume in 1825.47 Among those who had pre- ordered this edition were Friedrich Ludwig Jahn, Ernst Moritz Arndt, Baron Karl vom Stein and Joseph von Görres, whose names Friedrich inscribed in a small space on the front of the sarcophagus in this painting, next to that of Gerhard von Scharnhorst, who had died in 1813.48 The name “Hutten” is written in capital letters on the base below the helmet. Friedrich thus drew a direct line from the campaign for freedom in 1813 and its tenth anniversary in 1823 to the Reformation in the 16th century. The monument serves as a political statement by the artist and reflects his interpretation of history. He chose the apse of the church ruins at Oybin as the setting for the tomb, which he had sketched on his journey to the Riesengebirge in 1810 (fig. 27, p. 145) and which was a popular site for national celebrations, such as the 300th anniversary of the Reformation in 1817.49 When the painting was acquired by the Weimar court, it may have been because it reminded Duke Carl August of Saxe- Weimar-Eisenach of a visit to Oybin in 1790. Christian August Pescheck had dedicated his book on Oybin, that “sanctuary of grey prehis3 Caspar David Friedrich Two Men Contemplating the Moon 1819/1820 | CAT 148
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTMyNjA1