The Cross Beside The Baltic

The artwork The Cross Beside The Baltic is a painting created by Caspar David Friedrich between 1810 and 1820. It is currently housed at the Charlottenburg Palace and measures 0.335 meters in width and 0.45 meters in height.

The painting depicts a solitary wooden cross standing atop a rocky outcrop by the sea. The cross is the central element of the composition, its dark silhouette stark against a sky awash in the warm hues of a setting or rising sun. A low-hanging, pale sun (or moon) hovers in the distance over a tranquil sea. Broken ship masts and spars lie scattered on the rocks around the cross, hinting at a maritime disaster and evoking a sense of loss and transience. The overall atmosphere is one of somber contemplation, characteristic of Friedrich's Romantic style.