German art historian and author Florian Illies talks about his book "Zauber der Stille" ("The magic of silence") and tells the story of the painter Caspar David Friedrich and his journey through time.
Monday, 18. March 2024, 19:00 – 20:00 h
At Literaturhaus Zurich, Limmatquai 62, 8001 Zürich
In his third major historical epoch portrait, Florian Illies elegantly and effortlessly describes Caspar David Friedrich's journey through the ages to mark the anniversary year. As revered by Hitler as by Rainer Maria Rilke, as hated by Stalin as by the '68ers, as coveted by the Mafia as by Leni Riefenstahl - 250 years of German history are rendered visible. And Friedrich, the painter, becomes a man of flesh and blood.
Illies, born in 1971, studied art history in Bonn and Oxford. He was head of the features section of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung", managed the Grisebach auction house and is now co-editor of "Zeit". S. Fischer recently published his book about the 1920s and 1930s, "Liebe in Zeiten des Hasses" ("Love in Times of Hate"), which has since been translated into 18 languages. His art podcast "Augen zu" (together with Giovanni di Lorenzo) is one of the most listened-to German language podcasts.
Photo copyright: Mathias Bothor.