The Sea of Ice
1823–1824 · Oil on canvas · Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
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About this work
- Artist
- Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840)
- Year
- 1823–1824
- Medium
- Oil on canvas
- Original size
- 96.7 × 126.9 cm
- Collection
- Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg
- Movement
- Romanticism
Great slabs of ice have been forced upward into a jagged pyramid in an arctic sea, and only on close inspection does the stern of a crushed ship appear among the floes at the right. Friedrich painted it in Dresden between 1823 and 1824, drawing on reports of William Parry's expedition in search of the Northwest Passage and on his own studies of ice breaking up on the Elbe. It was exhibited as An Idealised Scene of an Arctic Sea, and no one bought it in his lifetime; it was long known as The Wreck of the Hope after a lost painting with that title. The flat, hard light and the absence of any human figure make it one of the bleakest images of Romanticism. It has been in the Hamburger Kunsthalle since 1905.
This exhibition-poster edition shows the whole work beneath original typography set in-house. The original is in the public domain.
Where it works
Jagged ice and a flat hard light make this a cool, bleak piece for a study, office or hallway rather than a bedroom. Black frame on pale grey or white at 16×24 or 24×36; it suits minimal rooms and sits uneasily beside warm colour.
Style, size & framing detail
- Style
- Exhibition poster of a Romanticism painting
- Era
- 19th century (1823–1824)
- Orientation
- Portrait
- Palette
- cornflower blue, cream & beige
- Mood
- dramatic, moody
- Rooms
- study or library, living room, dining room, dorm room, hallway or entryway
- Good gift for
- housewarming, art lovers
Size. We'd hang this one at 16×24. Prints at 12×18, 16×24, 24×36 in — 12×18 for a shelf, desk or a gallery-wall grid; 16×24 above a desk, console or in a hallway; 24×36 as the statement piece above a sofa or bed.
Framing. Exhibition posters sit best in a slim black frame with no mat — the typeset margin is the mat.
Pairing. Pairs as a set of three with other famous painting prints (10% off three or more).
Details & materials
Shipping & returns
Is this the whole painting, or a crop?
Is The Sea of Ice in the public domain?
What is it printed on?
When was The Sea of Ice painted, and in what medium?
What size works above a sofa or bed?
About this design
The Madten promise
A fine-art print
The same artwork as a clean fine-art print — the image shown large with a minimal caption.
The full-bleed edition
The same plate printed edge-to-edge, filling the whole sheet — bold and immersive.
