Barge Trip on the Elbe near Dresden (Morning on the Elbe)

Despite its miniature format, the Barge Trip is a much noted Carus masterpiece. The theme of the window, with the figure seen from behind looking out from the dark at the free countryside bathed in sunshine, was borrowed from the work of Carus’ friend and role model Caspar David Friedrich. Carus accords the viewer a position in the lower section of a gondola on the Elbe that is heading for the bluish silhouette of Dresden, depicted with architectural accuracy. The section chosen intensifies the intimacy of the moment and the focus on the city, which can be read as representative in general of the yearning for an ideal place. Carus opts specifically for the use of strong light contrasts (the dark hull of the ship and bright nature) and to reproduce the attendant effects on our perception; as a Romantic painter, physician, philosopher of nature and artist he had, after all, a holistic and scholarly interest in natural phenomenon. He makes use of the longstanding metaphor of travel by boat to highlight the relationship between man and world. (Kathrin DuBois)