A polymath who was professor of obstetrics, he became Friedrich’s pupil in 1814. They shared locations and the use of Rückenfiguren.
Carus
Born in Swedish Pomerania, studied in Copenhagen, and lived most of his adult life in Dresden. Paintings from early landscapes in 1807 to ‘Chalk Cliffs on Rügen’.
Centred on Caspar David Friedrich, they were influenced by Claude-Joseph Vernet, Caspar Wolf, Philip James de Loutherbourg and Henry Fuseli.
The hills are alive with eagles, black grouse, sheep, highland cattle, deer, and even the occasional goat.
From Rembrandt to the First World War, through specialists including Atkinson Grimshaw, Eugène Jansson, Schikaneder, and Le Sidaner.
How the Rückenfigur passed from Friedrich via JC Dahl to Thomas Fearnley, then was reborn with Gustave Caillebotte.
Figures in landscape paintings don’t normally stand with their back to the viewer. How the Rückenfigur came to the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich and his pupil Carus.
Two birds associated with myth: Zeus’s eagle, often used to indicate his presence in disguise, and the symbol of night and wisdom, the owl.
Declared sublime, and named after the throat, they’re painted from the mid-18th century. Works by Wolf, Turner, Ward, German Romantics and more.
From Jan van Eyck to Caillebotte and Claus, these paintings show the view beyond an open doorway, commonly as a means of incorporating a landscape.
The Eclectic Light Company 