View of Dresden by Moonlight

1839

Oil on canvas, 78 × 130 cm. Galerie Neue Meister (Albertinum), Dresden

The city's churches and bridge stand dark against a night sky above the Elbe. The view had been famous since Bellotto's large painting of it in 1748.

The Norwegian-born painter settled in Dresden in 1818 and stayed nearly forty years, apart from trips to Italy and Norway. He was a close friend of Friedrich.
Look at the skyline: the Frauenkirche dome, the Hofkirche tower and the Augustus Bridge.
Light is the real subject: the moon itself, the bright edges of the clouds and the reflections on the river.
The city becomes a Romantic nocturne, or night piece: a well-known place offered as a mood to share, not as a guide to its buildings.
The gallery acquired it in 1937 through the Berlin dealer Karl Haberstock, in exchange for a painting by Nikolaus Gysis.

Image: Wikimedia Commons · Public domain (PD-Art)