Why is the Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog important?
Other ridges rise through the fog, giving the impression of islands in a sea. The man himself appears to have hiked up this mountain and now looks out over the precipice at the heights he has scaled. He is an explorer — though we sense driven more by romantic sensibility than by any professional pursuit.
When was Caspar Friedrich born?
5 September 1774
Caspar David Friedrich/Date of birth
Caspar David Friedrich, (born September 5, 1774, Greifswald, Pomerania [now in Germany]—died May 7, 1840, Dresden, Saxony), one of the leading figures of the German Romantic movement.
Where was Caspar David Friedrich born and raised?
Friedrich was born in Greifswald, Swedish Pomerania (now northeastern Germany), in 1774. Before he was 20 years old, his mother, two sisters, and a brother had all died. He was known, even then, for his melancholic and ironic personality, a seriousness reflected in his painting.
What was Caspar David Friedrich’s legacy to Germany?
The artist’s legacy suffered when Hitler and the Nazis claimed Friedrich as their ideological forebear in the 1930s. They connected his rapture for the German landscape with their slogan of “Blood & Soil,” which similarly romanticized national territory. This association turned off future scholars to Friedrich’s work for decades.
When did Caspar David Friedrich move to Dresden?
There,he studied with the well-established Danish portrait painter Jens Juel. In 1798, Friedrich moved to Dresden, though he took frequent journeys to inspire his landscape practice. In 1808, Friedrich courted controversy when he completed one such landscape, Cross in the Mountains (1807–08), which he painted as an altarpiece.
What kind of landscapes did Caspar David Friedrich paint?
Mostly based on the landscapes of northern Germany, his paintings depict woods, hills, harbors, morning mists and other light effects based on a close observation of nature. These works were modeled on sketches and studies of scenic spots, such as the cliffs on Rügen, the surroundings of Dresden and the river Elbe.