Three dark, female figures in back view under a pale, still cold morning sun, standing high and far above them; between the bare trees they look small and lost. A fourth seems to approach them; two more, barely recognizable, move farther back on the muddy road. Hardly anything suggests the presence of spring, which is present in the title; only a few tender shoots on the bare branches and the milestone erected next to the path point to the end of Lent and the beginning of the warmer months.

The application of color is extremely subtle; delicate oscillating, pearly tones in the sky are contrasted by deep shadows and the sharp silhouette of the young trees; in the lower part of the picture, the warm brown of the mud of the street captures the strong contrast between light and dark and softens it a little; the bright shawls and dark skirts of two of the figures give a subtle echo of it. The only truly powerful color is the sun's rays, which almost touch the upper edge of the picture.

In its simplicity and reduced color, the picture is a classic example of the works of Caspar David Friedrich and his contemporaries; similar, more famous works such as the "Monk by the Sea" come to mind. The portrait format, almost two-thirds of which is taken up by the pale pink sky, emphasizes the sublimity of the surrounding nature, a topos typical of the epoch of Romanticism. The depiction of the human protagonists in back view invites them to identify themselves with them as viewers of the scenery; through their simple clothing, their immobile attitude and the lack of almost all individual traits, they become placeholders for the viewer, a mediator, who establishes the connection to the grandiose nature, the actual main theme of the works. It is interesting to note that this case is about women - not infrequently the anonymous protagonists in Caspar David Friedrich's pictures are men, such as the famous "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog".

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Easter Morning by Caspar David Friedrich. Available as an art print on canvas, photo paper, watercolor board, uncoated paper or Japanese paper.
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