More than 145,000 visitors so far: last chance to see “The Monk Has Returned” exhibition before it closes on 24 July 2016

19.07.2016
Alte Nationalgalerie

This coming Sunday marks the end of the special exhibition on the restoration of two paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, “Monk by the Sea" and “The Abbey in the Oakwood". More than 145,000 people have so far visited the Alte Nationalgalerie to see the two works, which were painstakingly restored over the course of three years. The special exhibition provides a comprehensive documentation of the extensive restoration treatments. 

From 26 July 2016, visitors will be able to enjoy the paintings in all their original splendour, displayed on the third floor of the Alte Nationalgalerie alongside other works by Caspar David Friedrich and a portrait of the artist by Caroline Bardua.

As custodians of “Monk by the Sea" and “The Abbey in the Oakwood", the Alte Nationalgalerie is privileged to boast in its collection the most famous pair of paintings of German Romantic art. Employing a unique style, both in terms of his radical approach to composition and the refinement evident in his painting technique, Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) thematizes in his paintings the relationship between knowledge and faith, the transient and the eternal, life and death.