Caspar
David Friedrich’s “The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog” embodies lots of romantic
period qualities. When I take a glance at this artwork, the first thing I think
is that this man in the painting is taking in this beautiful view and just
feeling the power of life. All around him is beauty, wonder, and mystery. I can
almost completely insert myself into this painting and feel all of my senses
working as I try to make sense of all of the magnificence around me.
One
Romanticism ideal that seems to be portrayed in this photo is alienation; the
thought of an “artist apart from society”. Now, this may not be a self-portrait
of Caspar David Friedrich, but this man is definitely alienated from society at
the moment of this painting. Maybe Friedrich wanted to portray his feelings
about society and by having this man be the only person in the painting, it
symbolized his want or even role in society.
Similar
to “The Dreamer”, also by Friedrich, this painting embodies lots of emotions,
another ideal of Romanticism. I can put myself in the main character’s shoes and
look out into the mystifying landscape before me. How can one not think when
they are put into a situation like this? Even now, in modern day, if one was to
come across a landscape like this, after taking their pictures with their smart
phones, I would hope that there would be at least a couple of seconds of silence
to just take it all in. And in that moment of silence, there has got to be
thoughts bouncing around, stirring emotions throughout the body, engaging all
senses. Being so high up, as well, must create a sense of power (not
necessarily over anyone), but just power in oneself as well as satisfaction
with life. These emotions can lead to another Romanticism theory: the sense of
self-realization in the world.
During
this period, the yearning for the “unknown and unknowable” was prominent. What
is out there? This man must be thinking. Maybe not only is he (or me, in that
case) wondering what is underneath all of that fog, but it also brings me to a
larger question overall. What is out there…in the entire world? Again, the
mystery of this painting can create feelings within a viewer.
The
use of a foreign land is something that was classified in the Romantic period. Relative
to being “unknown and unknowable”, this foreign land creates a sense of there
being new ideals. What is out there that I have yet to discover that is being
hidden by all of this fog? Do I leave and wait for the fog to clear or
appreciate the beauty of mystery while it is still here?
Even
though I am not looking at the actual painting, I am still able to use my
senses to appreciate the glory and wonder of this scene. In my mind, Caspar
David Friedrich does a great job in creating a piece that can pull the viewer
into the painting so that they can feel what the main character in this piece
is feeling.
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