The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
Posted in art, Brett's Posts, wanderer 0 comments
When it comes to art, I'm pretty much a dunce. So my favorites are landscapes, because of the simplicity. "Huh, it's a painting of a mountain...It looks like a mountain...well done." On the other hand, there is abstract art that I can't make heads or tails of, so I can't tell if it is "good." For other works of art, it helps if I have someone explain or interpret it for me. Even better if they teach me to ask the right questions of it.
The painting that provokes these thoughts is Caspar David Friedrich's The Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, painted in 1818, seen here on the left. It is simple enough, a young man standing on a cliff looking out over a landscape, but is that all?
Is he looking over the places he has just traveled or scouting the path ahead? Is he the master of all he surveys or does he feel dwarfed by the vast view? Does he feel daunted or encouraged? Is it ambiguous?
What do you see when you look at the painting? How would you interpret it?
Brett
"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
Is he looking over the places he has just traveled or scouting the path ahead? Is he the master of all he surveys or does he feel dwarfed by the vast view? Does he feel daunted or encouraged? Is it ambiguous?
What do you see when you look at the painting? How would you interpret it?
Brett
"From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."
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