Man and Woman Contemplating the Moon

Friedrich only rarely incorporated aspects of his own life in his painting, but where he did, the statement loses nothing of his objective force. After his marriage to Carline Bommer in 1818, he produced paintings that include the figure of a woman. In the Man and Woman Looking at the Moon Friedrich has portrayed himself and his wife gazing at the moon in Romantic wonderment. This painting is probably one of the most ardent acknowledgements of their relationship. There is a variant on the motif, Two Men Looking at the Moon (Dresden), painted in c. 1820.

Suggested listening (streaming mp3, 6 minutes):

Franz Schubert: An den Mond (To the Moon) (Goethe) D 296