As someone with a fear of heights, I wonder if other people feel the way I do when I really look at this painting, because I really do feel a slight tingling of fear while looking at this painting when I put myself in as the Wanderer. This painting surely depicts that feeling of the sublime and its connection to nature in the sensation of the treacherous cliffside the Wanderer stands upon. This aspect of Romantic era art is deeply connected to nature and how its beauty and treachery can force a perspective change in those who truly experience it. The research about this painting wouldn't be complete without some mention of the idea of the sublime in Romantic era poetry and art. BUT, I don't believe this would happen if Friedrich wasn't able to make good on his desire to depict a sensation rather than a landscape. The way that the landscape is depicted here makes sure that the viewer will see how human this painting is. I argue that Friedrich is doing something similar here with point of view in this painting. It's an exploration of a genuine human experience (albeit a painful one), depicted through the lens of a landscape. In that poem, Wordsworth uses a focused point of view to establish the landscape around the thorn, before slowly zooming out, giving us more and more details until we can see how human and emotional this all is. While researching this painting, I kept thinking about "The Thorn" by William Wordsworth. " It appears, thus, that Friedrich sought not merely to explore the blissful enjoyment of a beautiful view but rather to have an encounter with the spiritual Self through the contemplation of nature (Gaete 61). We see only his back, and the viewer gets the impression that for such a thoughtful pose coming from this Wanderer, that contemplation is taking place, but perhaps not merely that over the wonder of the details of the view. We can see evidence of this in the painting because the landscape itself is obscured by fog, while the man isn't. This approach to art is definitely reflective of the Romantic era in that so many of the ideas we get from them are so self conscious and self reflective, often using nature as a catalyst for that introspection. Critics say that we should look at his landscapes not as "decipherable symbols but as carriers of sensation" (90), and that Friedrich didn't want to just faithfully reflect the landscape, "but rather to reflect his soul" (90). But the artist says that isn't the point. Friedrich was known for his depiction of landscapes, and this could very well be inspired by or be a real depiction of one. The artist puts this into words by saying "A picture must not be invented, it must be felt" (Prodger 90). And yet there is a definite sensation we get while looking at this painting that draws the eye and is a sensation we can almost feel in our bones. When we examine the painting, the middle third is dominated by the Wanderer and the rocks he stands upon, with the adjacent two thirds devoted to the obscured landscape. We've talked about concepts of space in class, and it's significant that so much space in this painting is devoted as equally to an obscure landscape as it is to the Wanderer if not more so. It was painted in 1818 and is representative of Romantic era artwork. Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, by Caspar David Friedrich depicts a man standing on a rocky cliff face looking out over a landscape obscured by fog.
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