Two Men Contemplating the Moon

23. Dezember 1824

Son born: Adolf Friedrich

1824–1826

Depression and darker motifs

A new bout of depression — earlier ones came in 1799, 1803–1805, around 1813 and in 1816 — brings vultures, owls, graveyards and ruins into his work. From 1826 these motifs become a permanent feature of his output, and his colours grow darker and more muted.

1825–1840

The fading of his fame

Over the last fifteen years of his life Friedrich’s reputation steadily declines: as the ideals of early Romanticism go out of fashion he comes to be seen as an eccentric and melancholy figure out of touch with the times, and his patrons gradually fall away. Towards the end he lives in relative poverty and spends long periods, often beginning before sunrise, walking alone through woods and fields.