As a result, the members of the German Confederation instituted the Carlsbad Decrees in 1819, which severely limited free speech and banned the teaching of liberal ideas in universities.

The gothic ruin that serves as the setting for the image is based on a monastery in the German city of Oybin.

The man in the image is wearing altdeutsch (old German) attire which grew popular during Napoleon's campaign as a symbol of anti-French sentiment.

Scharnhorst died in the Battle of Leipzig and the rest faced persecution and even exile for spreading liberal ideas.

[7] The inside shows the old Catholic order as broken, while the expanse of the outside world, representing Lutheranism, gives a sense of freedom and hope.

The man here represents what Joseph Koerner has described as a "missed encounter with history" in which the future of German reunification can only be imagined through an unresolved relationship with the past.

[10] Hutten's Grave and Friedrich's other works related to German nationalism and heritage were later coopted by the Nazis to promote their ideology.