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The Magic of Silence

By Florian Illies

Product Image: The Magic of Silence

The Magic of Silence

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Description
No German painter evokes such strong emotions as Caspar David Friedrich: his evening skies remain icons of longing, his mountain vistas testaments to the grandeur of nature.  He inspired Samuel Beckett to write Waiting for Godot and Walt Disney to create Bambi. Goethe, however, was so enraged by the enigmatic melancholy of Friedrich's paintings that he wanted to smash them on the edge of a table.

In a sweeping journey through time, bestselling author Florian Illies tells the story of Friedrich's paintings and their impact on subsequent generations.  Many of his most beautiful paintings were burned, first in his birthplace and then in World War II; others, like the Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, emerge from the mists of history a hundred years after Friedrich's death. Illies recounts the story of how Friedrich's paintings ended up at the Russian czar's court, others among a pile of winter tires in a Mafia car repair shop, and others still in the kitchen of a German social housing apartment.  Adored by Hitler and Rainer Maria Rilke, despised by Stalin and by the generation of 68, this compelling narrative dances through 250 years of history as seen through Friedrich's art and life. As a result, the man himself becomes flesh and blood before our very eyes.
Product details
Edition:
1
Number of Pages:
192
Release Date:
2024-11-22
Publication Date:
2025-01-21
Publisher:
Polity Press
Languages:
Original: English
ISBN10:
1509567542
ISBN13:
9781509567546
GPSR Manufacturer Reference:
[email protected]
Weight:
371 g
Height:
149 cm
Width:
224 cm
Thickness:
25 cm
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