Friedrich, Caspar David- Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, 1818
During the Romantic time period there were an increasing
number of artists who turned to landscapes for inspiration, especially in
America. This particular painting is one
of my favorites because of the contrast of the landscape and the person
standing in the center of everything (quite literally the center of the
painting. I feel like the artist is
trying to give the observer a glimpse into the mind of the man on the
rocks. An idea that was becoming
increasingly popular during the romantic time period is trying to get back to
the ‘Real’ world where only emotion exists.
In this particular painting the artist achieves this by having the man
gaze down into the fog as he reflects on his own thoughts and life and rather
than communicating what the man is thinking via words he expresses it with a
picture. The fog perhaps representing
everything that makes life difficult and hides the end goal, but if he were to
look up he would be able to see the mountain or his end destination looming
above the fog and hardships of life. The
rocks and hills before him perhaps represent what will be a difficult journey
in which it is hard to see through the fog, but the destination is in sight if
you dare to look above the fog.
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