How are you?
Currently, I am
introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the
title “Interesting
Art Stories”.
The 44th story is “Wanderer above
the Sea of Fog” by Caspar David Friedrich.
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| Portrait of Caspar David Friedrich, Gerhard von Kügelgen (c. 1810–1820) |
“Wanderer
above the Sea of Fog” is an oil painting circa 1818 by the German Romantic
artist Caspar David Friedrich. Considered one of the most representative works
and masterpieces of Romanticism, it is now owned by the Kunsthalle Hamburg in
Germany.
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| Hamburger Kunsthalle |
In the foreground of this
painting, a young man with his back stands on a rocky cliff. He wears a dark
coat, holds a cane in his right hand, and gazes at the landscape covered in
thick fog as his hair blows in the wind. In the middle, there are several
ridges and forests of trees above them. In the distance, the mountains are
faintly visible, and the fog spreading beyond here blends with the horizon,
making it indistinguishable from the cloud-filled sky.
The painting is made up of various elements from the Elbe Sandstone Mountains in Saxony and Bohemia, sketched on site in accordance with Friedrich's usual practice and then completed into paintings in his studio.
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| Lilienstein, part of the Elbe Sandstone Mountains |
The background on the right is the
Zirkelstein and the mountains in the background on the left could be either the
Rosenberg or the Kaltenberg. The rocks in front of it represent the Gamrig near
Rathen, and the rocks on which the wanderer stands are a group on the
Kaiserkrone.
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| Zirkelstein |
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| Rosenberg seen from the Noldenberg |
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| View of the Kaiserkrone from the Zirkelstein |
Faithful to the Romantic
style and especially Friedrich's style, this painting is similar to his other
works, such as “Chalk Cliffs on Rügen” and “The Sea of Ice.”
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| Chalk Cliffs on Rügen, Caspar David Friedrich (c. 1818) |
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| The Sea of Ice, Caspar David Friedrich (Before 1826) |
Painted in the “Rückenfigur”
technique, in which the model’s back is placed towards the viewer, it allows
the viewer to gain the feeling that Friedrich had when he painted it.
Looking at examples of its use in popular culture, Stewart Lee, the English comedian, recreated the painting in his 2016 “Content Provider” tour.
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| Content Provider, Stewart Lee |
The French director and screenwriter Celine Sciamma's 2019 drama film "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" refers to this painting in one of the scenes where the protagonist Héloïse looks out to the sea, which is also used as a poster design for the film.
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| Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) |
Thank you.
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