How does The Great Enclosure elucidate its Composition and Analysis?
The Great Enclosure depicts the floodplain area adjacent to the Elbe river, located four kilometers northwest of Dresden, known as the Ostra Enclosure. The oil painting Sketch of the Great Enclosure likely served as the preliminary study for this work. The Great Enclosure represents the horizontal expanse of the Ostra Enclosure while capturing the intersecting curves of the sky above, towering over the water pools and ground, painted in chiaroscuro. German art historian Willi Wolfradt suggests that this curvature of the sky begins in the grove in the distance and is mirrored in the form of the sandbanks.  Werner Hofmann sees the sky converging in a central hyperbola that creates an ethereal effect. In this way, the physical and cosmic become intertwined, the vast sky of heaven marrying the earthly world.The vantage point of the viewer is elevated above the ground, implying a position on a bridge over the river. The heightened position also has allegorical resonances, suggesting that the viewer travels from the natural to the spiritual world. This theme of transition is further emphasized by the transitory period of twilight, as well as the barren foreground and muted tones of the muddy earth and large puddles, which reflect the heavens above.The only sign of human presence in the scene is the ship situated on the river. The position of the ship indicates that it is moving toward the viewer. The diminutive size of the ship relative to the vast landscape suggests that human influence is having a small effect on the greatness of the natural world. This feeling of nature's magnitude and the colors of the sunset accentuate the themes of mortality and spiritual transcendence for the Christian believer.
Inspired by The Great Enclosure, Johann Philipp Veith created a reproduction of Friedrich's work entitled Evening on the Elbe in 1832.
Elbe Dresden floodplain chiaroscuro hyperbola