Chalk Cliffs at Ruegen

Friedrich married in January 1818, at 44, a woman some 20 years younger named Caroline. That summer the newlyweds travelled to the Baltic island of Rügen, together with the painter's brother, and stood on the high white cliffs of the Stubbenkammer, then one of the island's most famous lookouts. Soon after, he painted this. The three small figures among the grass are usually read as the honeymoon party itself. The woman in the bright red dress is his new wife. The man on his knees, hat and walking stick thrown aside, is almost certainly Friedrich, leaning out over the chalk edge toward the blue water far below, where a couple of tiny sails have been set out on the sea.