Caspar David Friedrich – German Romanticism Master

During the rise of Romanticism in Germany, one artist developed a particular eye for capturing landscapes with his paintings. During trips along the Baltic Coast and into the mountains of Germany, Caspar David Friedrich would sketch with pencil the world as he saw it. Then, he would carry the emotions from these voyages and channel his own experiences onto the canvas.

In Romantic fashion, Friedrich kept with the rising emphasis of individuality and emotionality and imbued these natural landscapes with his world views. These feelings would eventually fill his paintings with an awe-inspiring atmosphere. Upon returning to his studio, the open expanses and grand skylines came to life with a cold and eerie beauty unlike any other depictions of nature at the time.

Through the art of the Romanticism period, spirituality was taking on new forms outside the walls of the church. Artists began to showcase their reverence for nature and how transcendental the natural world is. Friedrich was no exception, believing that painting was as much an internal process as a physical act. He has undoubtedly achieved depicting his epic and expansive view of the world.

I find his work evocative of an adventure the looms on the horizon, especially in his painting “Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog”. I feel as though I am peering over the artist’s shoulder as he crests the mountain to bask in triumph. There is a sense of grandeur about the world and simultaneously a sense of insignificance. We give the world its meaning by the emotions woven into our memory, yet we are a spark of space dust in the ocean of the cosmos.

Sources

https://www.caspardavidfriedrich.org/biography.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romanticism

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caspar_David_Friedrich