A procession of monks, some of whom bear a coffin, head toward the gate of a ruined Gothic church in the center of the painting.

This lower third of the picture lies in darkness—only the highest part of the ruins and the tips of the leafless oaks are lit by the setting sun.

[citation needed] The picture appeared at a time when Friedrich had his first public success and critical acknowledgment with the controversial Tetschener Altar.

[4] In the painting Friedrich draws a parallel between those actions and the use of Greifswald churches as barracks by occupying French soldiers.

[5] On 24 September 1810, shortly before the Berlin Academy exhibition, Carl Frederick Frommann described the setting sun and half-moon of the nearly-finished painting.