This MedLibrary.org supplementary page on Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is provided directly from the open source Wikipedia as a service to our readers. Please see the note below on authorship of this content, as well as the Wikipedia usage guidelines. To search for other content from our encyclopedia supplement, please use the form below:
Related Sponsors
 |
| Wanderer above the Sea of Fog |
| Caspar David Friedrich, 1818 |
| Oil-on-canvas |
| 94.8 × 74.8 cm |
| Kunsthalle Hamburg |
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (also known as Wanderer Above the Mist) (German: Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer) is an oil painting of 1818 by the German Romantic artist Caspar David Friedrich.
Contents |
Description
The work depicts a man, possibly Friedrich himself, standing on top of a high mountain, with his back to the viewer—a common motif in Friedrich's work—before a great mass of fog. Peaks of other mountains can be seen above the surface of the fog, while a range of huge mountains is seen in the background. The large expanse of sky above the heights of the mountains in the background covers much of the painting.
The painting is composed of various elements from the mountains of the Elbsandsteingebirge in Saxony and Bohemia, sketched in the field but in accordance with his usual practice, rearranged by Friedrich himself in the studio for the painting. In the background to the right is the Zirkelstein. The mountain in the background to the left could be either the Rosenberg or the Kaltenberg. The group of rocks in front of it represent the Gamrig near Rathen. The rocks on which the traveller stands are a group on the Kaiserkrone.1
Commentary
Wanderer above the Sea of Fog is true to the Romantic style, offering a powerful statement about mankind and personal enlightenment. Although the man is on top of a lofty mountain, he is wearing a formal outfit that would have been typical of a philosopher during Friedrich's life. This piece can represent mankind reaching for his goals and acknowledging his feats by standing above all things, representing his triumph over the struggles of life. Art critics also note that the mist represents the uncertainty of the future, created by the tension between the old monarchical institutions and the new political thought.
Friedrich's interest in nature is evident throughout his work. Examples include his Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, painted in 1818, which portrays a man standing, and a woman seated, looking out, while another man on his hands and knees looks over the ledge of a vast and high-reaching slope leading down to an endless ocean. Another example of this can be found in Friedrich's The Sea of Ice, which depicts, in the foreground, a monumental pile of enormous ice-shards, reminiscent of ruins, with many similar piles in the middle and background, littering a frozen landscape.
Notes
- ^ K.-L. Hoch:Caspar David Friedrich und die böhmischen Berge. Dresden 1987
External links
- "Caspar David Friedrich - Wanderer Above the Mist". Retrieved on 7 August, 2007.
- Sketches for the painting (German)
|
|||||||||||
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 30 November 2008, at 01:05.
Wikipedia Authorship and Review
Wikipedia content provided here is not reviewed directly by MedLibrary.org. Wikipedia content is authored by an open community of volunteers and is not produced by or in any way affiliated with MedLibrary.org.
Wikipedia Usage Guidelines
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article on "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog".
The URL for this specific entry is:
All Wikipedia text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License. (See Copyrights for details). Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.