The sheet is part of a sketchbook that Christina Grummt opened up while working on Friedrich's drawings on the basis of common features and to which she gave the name "Teplitz sketchbook from 1835". She identified a total of 13 sheets, which are in various collections today (Dresden, Kupferstichkabinett; Mannheim, Kunsthalle; Nuremberg, Germanisches Nationalmuseum; Oslo, Nationalgalerie). Only the existence of one sheet with unknown whereabouts and without any reproduction, was confirmed by earlier mentions in the literature. It is to be regarded as a great stroke of luck that this particular sheet has now appeared in a private collection in northern Germany and can be presented here.
With a sheet size of approx. 13 x 20 cm, it is a medium-sized sketchbook used by Friedrich. It was probably taken apart at an early stage, presumably soon after Friedrich's death. Five sheets come from the estate of Johan Christian Dahl (Grummt 957, 958, 962, 967 and 968; each acquired in 1903) and six from family property (Grummt 959, 961, 963, 965, 966, 969; acquired in 1916 and 1931). The Dresden Kupferstichkabinett acquired one sheet (Grummt 964) from the Dresden art dealer Heinrich Kühl in 1928. That year Galerie Kühl had shown an extensive exhibition of drawings and prints by Friedrich, in which the mentioned purchased sheet was listed as number 110 and the newly found one 109 with the title "Wiese in Teplitz" and the date "3 . September 1835”. The numbers (17, 18, 19, 21, 23) on the sheets of the Dahl Collection could indicate that there were other sheets that have not been identified.
On September 3, 1840, less than four months after Friedrich's death (May 7), his widow Caroline sent some small pencil drawings to his nephew Heinrich Friedrich in Greifswald with the request that they "are distributed among old and young, including you, as a last souvenir of the father's work, especially some from the year 1835 when you were with us in Teplitz, he himself inscribed them with the date they were drawn." It can be assumed that at least some of these sheets are from the "Teplitz Sketchbook".
The reason for his stay in Teplitz was a stroke that Friedrich suffered on June 26, 1835. In a letter dated July 17, he wrote: “I was or am suddenly struck like a blow. My tongue was paralyzed and I could only speak slurred [..] the right arm and leg were completely useless [..]." Bedridden for two weeks, he tried to occupy himself but was unable to stand at the easel. On the advice of his doctor, he spent almost six weeks at a spa in Teplice from August 19 to the end of September 1835. With the whole family he took accommodation at the inn “Goldene Harfe” inn on Badgasse (today “Zlatá harfa” on Lázenská ulicka 73 ).
The first verifiable drawing during the spa stay and at the same time the first dated drawing after the stroke, is the sheet "Wanderer auf Bergeweg" from September 2 (Grummt 957). It shows the view from a hill in the west of Teplice to the Bohemian ridge of the Ore Mountains. The last sheet (all are dated) is from September 23rd. They are all pencil drawings; one is watercolored (Grummt 961); on another (Grummt 969) Friedrich also used white chalk.
The motif depicted on the "meadow in Teplitz" certainly comes from the immediate vicinity of the city, but like most other views, it can no longer be localized more precisely, because the entire area around Teplitz has completely changed due to construction and brown coal mining (information provided by Frank Richter , Dresden). Three other sheets from the sketchbook show similar situations with boulders depicted in close-up, in which Friedrich apparently had particular interest. On two of these other sheets he expressly noted the rock type “granite” (Grummt 964 and 965).
Friedrich's newly acquired graphic skills can be seen very clearly in "Wiese in Teplitz". The rendition is relatively soft, but poised and by no means shaky. The form and surface of the rocks, as well as the areas of light and shadow, are clearly worked out. It is understandable that after the end of the stay Friedrich harbored the hope of being able to work on a larger scale again soon. In a letter to his nephew Heinrich from late September, he wrote that he was “quite well on his feet” and hoped that the aftereffects of the spa stay will enable him to use his hand again. The little he was able to do "because of his half-paralyzed" could still be of use to him if he "ever regained the ability to paint".
The last remark leads to a question that could not be answered due to the lack of an illustration. Sigrid Hinz, who must have seen the sheet beforehand, claims in her dissertation from 1966 that the sheet was used for the unfinished Giant Mountains Landscape (BS 419) in Oslo and "conditionally" also for the Hamburg oil painting "Sturzacker" (BS 390). In his 1973 catalogue raisonné of paintings, Helmut Börsch-Supan rejected both uses without further explanation. As far as the Oslo picture is concerned, however, it can be stated that the central boulder of the drawing actually appears there in mid distance, albeit inverted. However, since this is only a rough resemblance, it cannot be completely ruled out that it is a coincidental resemblance. There are fewer indications of a use in the "Sturzacker". At best, the distant mountain ridge on the far left of the oil painting could be considered, but the correspondence with the distant mountain ranges in the drawing is not close enough to assume a conscious use. Even the isolated stones lying around are not sufficient for this.
The reverse shows a sketch of a landscape with a view of a mountain range, presumably the Ore Mountains.
Prof. Dr. Reinhard Zimmermann