Thi Nguyen
Dr. Jillian Round
2382.001
9 October 2015
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog In 1818, Caspar David Friedrich creates the piece “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” which tells a story, using oil on canvas about a man dressed in dark clothing overlooking a vast body of fog with his back turned towards the viewer.
The main subject is a man in a dark green coat leaning on a cane and a rock with bright orange red hair. He’s standing upon a mountain comprised of dark browns and blacks. In the foreground there are more rocks shown further away from the main subject, but the rocks are engulf with fog of mainly white and sky blue hues. In the background we can see that there is a horizon line formed by mountainsides. There’s a mountain in the back …show more content…
I think that Friedrich’s choice of having the figure in common German attire speaks directly to the German romantic society at that time. He wanted to use the figure as a metaphor for German society as a whole to look deeper into nature and thus God. The figure is turned towards the nature because the figure’s face isn’t important. What’s important is what the figure is viewing, the nature. This is a common theme in many of his paintings, but is especially evident in this piece because all elements point toward the nature within the piece. The placement of this man in what seems to be a far and distant fantasy place evokes a mysterious transcendent theme in the painting. I think that he accomplished challenging the viewers perception of nature perfectly since it’s become an iconic piece two centuries later. I believe this piece is one of my favorite romantic pieces that I enjoy because of the dynamic contrast, color choice, and the composition. It’s a piece that makes me want to look deeper into it and find more meaning in nature itself. I like that Friedrich had actually sketched this at the place of inspiration, Elbsandsteingebirge in Saxony and Bohemia, and brings so much life and authenticity to the
Dr. Jillian Round
2382.001
9 October 2015
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog In 1818, Caspar David Friedrich creates the piece “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog” which tells a story, using oil on canvas about a man dressed in dark clothing overlooking a vast body of fog with his back turned towards the viewer.
The main subject is a man in a dark green coat leaning on a cane and a rock with bright orange red hair. He’s standing upon a mountain comprised of dark browns and blacks. In the foreground there are more rocks shown further away from the main subject, but the rocks are engulf with fog of mainly white and sky blue hues. In the background we can see that there is a horizon line formed by mountainsides. There’s a mountain in the back …show more content…
I think that Friedrich’s choice of having the figure in common German attire speaks directly to the German romantic society at that time. He wanted to use the figure as a metaphor for German society as a whole to look deeper into nature and thus God. The figure is turned towards the nature because the figure’s face isn’t important. What’s important is what the figure is viewing, the nature. This is a common theme in many of his paintings, but is especially evident in this piece because all elements point toward the nature within the piece. The placement of this man in what seems to be a far and distant fantasy place evokes a mysterious transcendent theme in the painting. I think that he accomplished challenging the viewers perception of nature perfectly since it’s become an iconic piece two centuries later. I believe this piece is one of my favorite romantic pieces that I enjoy because of the dynamic contrast, color choice, and the composition. It’s a piece that makes me want to look deeper into it and find more meaning in nature itself. I like that Friedrich had actually sketched this at the place of inspiration, Elbsandsteingebirge in Saxony and Bohemia, and brings so much life and authenticity to the