Nebulöse Wege

Gaps in an object’s provenance can be challenging, and many provenance researchers are used to them, especially for the period from 1933 to 1945. However, there are gaps which, due to their long continuance and significance, not only raise the question of provenance yet also general questions of art historical contextualization, reception and attribution. This is also the case with the painting Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer by Caspar David Friedrich. Its provenance gap spans over about 120 years, from 1813/1817 to 1938, to be precise. The article at hand is the result of the investigation and thought on this work within a provenance research project at Hamburger Kunsthalle. The focus lay on the undated and unsigned painting Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer, attributed to Caspar David Friedrich, which is located in Hamburg since 1970. There are some critical aspects concerning provenance and attribution which we put up here for discussion. Thereby, the problem of attribution figures prominently as it significantly codetermines the search for origin. If a work was previously attributed to another artist, it is often necessary to consult other sources in order to trace the path of the work.