Caspar David Friedrich. Where it all began – UWr philologists visited an exhibition at the Albertinum in Dresden
On Wednesday, 4 December 2024, the first integrative bus trip of the UWr Faculty of Letters students to Dresden took place. It took the form of a workshop addressed to students of Polish Studies (second year, pursuing a course in Romantic literature) and German Studies. The purpose of the trip was a monographic exhibition of paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, organised as part of the 250th anniversary of the birth of the prominent Dresden painter – a precursor of Romanticism in European painting – considered one of the most important cultural events of the past year.
The scientific supervisors of the group of forty students were dr hab. Ewa Grzęda prof. UWr (IFP) and dr Jan Pacholski (IFG). After an early departure from Breslau, while still on the bus, the students listened to three lectures on the following topics: the present day and history of Dresden; the life, work and reception of Caspar David Friedrich’s work; Polish ties with Saxony and Dresden with particular emphasis on the importance of this city as an important literary and artistic centre in the long 19th century. After arriving in Dresden, dr Jan Pacholski led the group along the trail of the city’s famous monuments, giving open-air lectures on topics related to individual sites, among which there was no shortage of Polish monuments (the famous mosaic Orszak książaski, German. Fürstenzug) and the famous St. Mary’s Church, German. Frauenkirche. The highlight of the trip was a visit to an exhibition located in the building of Dresden’s famous Albertinum gallery. The students viewed with great interest the works of Caspar David Friedrich and the artists working in his environment – masters, imitators, but also opponents, representing a different approach to landscape in painting. In the case of Polish Studies students, it was preparation for a series of classes scheduled for December on the subject of Romantic landscape. After a two-hour stay at the gallery, there was still some time left to explore the city further. We returned to Wrocław the same day around ten o’clock in the evening.
dr hab. Ewa Grzęda, prof. UWr, IFP
dr Jan Pacholski, IFG
Data of publication: 12.12.2024
Added by: M.K.
