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c. 1803

Woman Seated under a Spider's Web (Melancholy)

Caspar David Friedrich

German, 1774 - 1840

Friedrich’s reputation as one the great artists of the Romantic period derives from the haunting character of his luminous landscape paintings from the 1820s and 1830s, many of which include enigmatic figures seen from behind and staring off into space. This early work already is infused with the poetic reverie we encounter in his later images—in this case, a mournful meditation of the brevity of life.

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Caspar David Friedrich, Woman Seated under a Spider's Web (Melancholy), c. 1803 | Philadelphia Art Museum