Artist Spotlight: David Friedrich
Art: Unknown author version of caspar David Friedrich's original Wanderer Above the Sea Fog.
Word of the Day: Wanderer
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, or Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer, to give it it's original German title, is the most famous painting from the career of German Romanticist painter, Caspar David Friedrich. It was finished in 1818 and now resides at the Kunsthalle Hamburg in Hamburg, Germany.
"...Close your physical eye, so that you may see your picture first with the spiritual eye. Then bring what you saw in the dark into the light, so that it may have an effect on others, shining inwards from outside..."
The style of this painting is instantly recognisable as the work of Friedrich, with a foreground figure superimposed against a stunning landscape scene. This style of composition helps the viewer to feel very much a part of the painting which was one of the strengths of this famous German painter.
Landscape scenes of Germany continued throughout his career but not always with a figure in the foreground, despite that though, it remains very much a signature of his career. It is common for artists to become famous for just one artwork, despite having produced so much during their lifetime and Friedrich can be considered inseparable to Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. It has also been promoted to be considered one of the finest contributions to the entire Romanticist movement.
In this memorable artwork there is a flurry of mist that drifts across the landscape as the key figure stands tall, looking down on this mountainous setting. He is smartly dressed, suggesting he holds a powerful position but the way in which his back is turned to the viewer, and that we cannot see his face, leaves a mysterious element to this painting. Who is he? What is he doing? The viewer is left to debate what appears before their eyes. We have included a larger image of the painting at the bottom of this page so that you can appreciate even more of the detail added by artist Friedrich.
The figure in this scene is dressed in a smart overcoat, coloured dark green (you may not be able to make out this colour in the photograph), and holds a brown walking stick in his right hand. This suggests age and experience, but he holds it at an angle which oozes strength and confidence. His hair is untidy, suggesting that the wind has unsettled an otherwise groomed individual.
He cares not, for his focus is entirely taken by the mass of fog that sweeps across the landscape in front of him. The rocks on which he stands are darkened, allowing the rest of the scene to drift into the correct perspective, with a greater brightness. It also helps to focus the eye on the gentleman in the foreground. He also wears a shirt below his coat and also solid boots which give a picture of comfort and confidence within these challenging conditions.
DEFINITION
The verb wander describes something that has lost track. If you're watching a boring movie, your mind might begin to wander. If you don't have a clear goal, you could wander too — meaning you drift aimlessly.
When you wander mentally, your thoughts get lost. And when you wander physically, you don't have a destination, so it's also possible to lose your bearings and not know where you are — or how to get back.
That's why wander is also used to describe someone who drifts from place to place or job to job without a sense of direction or purpose, and the word wanderer is used to refer to someone who often travels from place to place, especially without any clear aim or purpose.
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