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| Caspar David Friedrich |
If you go through some of my other posts, I may or may not
have already posted this painting. I would apologize, but this piece is
fantastic. I’ve had a slight obsession with it since I’ve found it. The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog by Caspar
David Friedrich is my favorite painting. It has been an inspiration that has
helped me understand what I love about the fiction I read, watch, play, and
create. My own little molten pearl.
There’s a story in this piece of a man walking out of his
life with all that it has given him and stepping out into the obscured. He
can’t know what’s ahead of him, and yet he’s here. And not in an Indiana Jones
jacket mind you, or some kind of uniform. The Wanderer is in a collared jacket
and carrying a gentleman’s walking cane, but is the “Wanderer” and not the “Gentleman”
or the “Doctor.” I didn’t want him to fit in this obscured world. He looked
more ready to walk down a street than he did up a mountain side. But Friedrich
put him here.
To me, the Wanderer
Above the Sea of Fog is an acceptance of wonder, danger, pain, awe, and
death for the sake of knowing what is beneath the fog. The Wanderer is looking down
on a whole new experience that he can’t truly understand from where he is. But,
he doesn’t turn away. He seems to be taking it in. It’s a very important
moment, but I haven’t quite figured out what it means or why it means something
to be beyond the above.
But, not fully understanding it doesn’t mean that I haven’t
tried to recreate it. When I watch movies, I look for character’s experiencing
that same thing. I explore it in my own writing and let other people read over
these moments to tell me if what I’ve come up with makes sense. I’m really
hoping I figure out what I’m trying to get out of it soon.
As someone who finds the open ocean rather terrifying, I love this painting because of what you call the "acceptance of wonder, death, pain, awe, and pain." I often hope to ever avoid confrontation with life, hoping instead to cruise along contently. But I know I wouldn't be able to understand "what is beneath the fog." Thank you for sharing this painting!
ReplyDeleteWhat strikes me most is how all the lines in the painting seem to draw us into the extraordinary spectacle of...the back of his head. But while we may be looking at him and trying to understand what he's feeling or thinking, I like to think that he is facing the other way because he's looking forward with awe, but with courage and purpose. He looks frail before the expanse, but he also has an air of power and control over the painting. I can see why you love it so much.
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