A special journey in the footsteps of Caspar David Friedrich: The graphic novel chronicling his seven trips to and around Rügen will be presented at the KÖNIGSSTUHL National Park Center.
Caspar David Friedrich traveled to Rügen seven times between 1801 and 1826. He wandered across the Island of Rügen, capturing landscapes and people in his sketchbooks, and found motifs there that later found their way into some of his best-known works.
The graphic novel “The Weather Was Stormy on Rügen, I Drew…” brings these journeys to life in seven illustrated stories. It is based on Friedrich’s sketchbooks, letters, and diary entries. However, the story isn’t just about the painter searching for subjects; it also tells of encounters, adventures, and life on Rügen in the early 19th century.
Between Altefähr and Cape Arkona, Friedrich meets well-known figures of his time, sails with fishermen across the Baltic Sea and the Bodden, sketches peasant women and children on Mönchgut, and listens to the island’s fairy tales and legends. Historical accounts are interwoven with episodes that might very well have happened exactly as described.
Following the Romantic Days at the Königsstuhl, the event returns once more to a place where landscape, art, and the observation of nature are closely intertwined. For even today, Rügen can be viewed anew through Friedrich’s eyes: Which places did he actually visit? Where did he create his sketches? And which landscapes can be found in his later paintings?
The graphic novel—illustrated by Jakob Knapp, with scholarly commentary by Hannes Knapp, and narrated by Holger Teschke—is aimed at adults as well as younger readers and inspires them to explore Rügen for themselves in the footsteps of Caspar David Friedrich.
“Exquisitely illustrated, thrilling, and entertainingly told—an extraordinary book.” (Baltic Sea Times)
“A detailed and well-researched, but above all colorful and exciting comic.” (NDR)
