Carl Blechen

Church and Graveyard in the Snow by Moonlight

1827
Lithograph, with gray tone block on cream wove paper
41.4 × 35.9 cm (16.3 × 14.1 in)

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In the collection of Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago · as of July 2026

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

Blechen’s melancholy, monumental lithograph makes eloquent use of a gray tint block to evoke a snowy landscape and a sense of stillness. A lone man, cloak fluttering in the wind, has appeared surreptitiously at night to pay his respects to the dead. Perhaps in this moment he encounters his secret lover’s final resting place. Momentarily overcome with grief, he steadies himself on the plinth beneath a sculpture of the Madonna and Child.

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