Build the wall set
Art, frame, light and hanging gear, picked together. Choose a size and finish; the wall preview shows exactly what you're getting. One button sends the whole kit to your Amazon cart.
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How big can you print it?
Standard frame sizes, turned to match the artwork. "Crops" is how much of the picture you lose filling that frame edge to edge — or keep it all and let a mat take up the difference.
| Frame | Effective dpi | Verdict | Crops |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 × 8 in | 365 | Gallery sharp | 9% |
| 14 × 11 in | 265 | Sharp up close | 7% |
| 16 × 12 in | 243 | Sharp up close | 3% |
| 20 × 16 in | 182 | Poster sharp | 9% |
| 24 × 18 in | 162 | Poster sharp | 3% |
| 36 × 24 in | 111 | Fine across a room | 9% |
| 40 × 30 in | 97 | Too soft | 3% |
The ticket
Site of a Fire is a print by Caspar David Friedrich (German, Greifswald 1774–1840 Dresden), dated September 29, 1802 (printed 1803 or later). Etching on wove paper; second state. Size on the museum record: Sheet: 8 in. × 11 1/4 in. (20.3 × 28.5 cm) Plate: 3 5/8 × 5 3/8 in. (9.2 × 13.7 cm) Image: 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.4 × 12.4 cm). The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds it in its Drawings and Prints collection — Harris Brisbane Dick Fund, 1927.
The Met catalogs Site of a Fire as an etching on wove paper; second state by Caspar David Friedrich. The museum dates it September 29, 1802 (printed 1803 or later) (accession 27.36.1, Drawings and Prints). Spend a minute with the composition before choosing a size: notice where the eye lands first and where it rests. The Met's scan measures 4,000 × 2,921 pixels, which prints about 13.3 × 9.7 in at 300 dpi and 26.7 × 19.5 in at a still-comfortable 150 dpi. Because it runs wide, it wants a horizontal frame; check the crop percentage for each size before you commit. It is close to monochrome, so the frame sets the mood: black for contrast, white for air, or a thin natural wood for warmth. Line work lives on contrast. Print it on smooth bright paper and give it a wider frame or mat so the fine marks are not swallowed. Add a small picture light and keep the centre of the piece around 57 inches from the floor; those two choices make a reproduction look deliberate.
The Met released its scan under CC0, which means no permission, no fee and no credit line required. That file is 4,000 × 2,921 pixels — 11.7 megapixels — good for a gallery-sharp print up to 13.3 × 9.7 in. That is bigger than the print itself, which measures about 11.2 × 8 in — the file holds more detail than you can see standing in front of the original.Line work lives or dies on contrast. Print it on a smooth, bright paper and give it a wide mat: small graphic work drowns in a thin frame and a big empty border makes it look like it came out of a print room drawer.
On the receipt
- Artist
- Caspar David Friedrich
- Date
- September 29, 1802 (printed 1803 or later)
- Medium
- Etching on wove paper; second state
- Size
- Sheet: 8 in. × 11 1/4 in. (20.3 × 28.5 cm) Plate: 3 5/8 × 5 3/8 in. (9.2 × 13.7 cm) Image: 3 5/16 × 4 7/8 in. (8.4 × 12.4 cm)
- Museum
- The Met · Drawings and Prints
- Accession
- 27.36.1
- License
- Public domain · CC0 1.0
- Source
- Museum record ↗
