Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer
The Artist
- Who? Caspar David Friedrich
- Born: (baptized) 5. September 1774 in Greifswald, Schwedisch-Pommern († 7. Mai 1840 in Dresden, Königreich Sachsen)
- Style: Romanticism
Caspar David Friedrich was a German painter, graphic artist and draftsman. He was an important artist of the German early Romanticism, with his paintings that contradict the common notions of Romantic painting as a sentimental expressive art, he made a great contribution to modern art. In Friedrich's main works, the break with the traditions of landscape painting of Baroque and Classicism is accomplished in a revolutionary way.
In 1794 Frederick began studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen.
It is assumed that after 1801 Friedrich suffered a mental crisis with severe depressive phases, which are said to have led to a suicide attempt, which, according to various sources, may have occurred in 1801 or between 1805. Out of his life crisis Friedrich managed to achieve a first significant artistic success in 1805, he was awarded half of the first prize of the Weimar Friends of Art. Although the two landscapes he submitted, "Wallfahrt bei Sonnenuntergang" (Pilgrimage at Sunset) and "Herbstabend am See" (Autumn Evening by the Lake), did not meet the requirements of illustrating an ancient saga, Goethe awarded him the prize.
Frederick's sister Dorothea died on December 22, 1808, and his father on November 6, 1809. Apparently under this impression, the pair of paintings "Der Mönch am Meer" and "Abtei im Eichenwald" were created. On the occasion of the Berlin Academy Exhibition in October 1810, the two paintings immediately became known to a wider audience. After Napoleon's victory in the battle at Jena and Auerstedt in 1806, Frederick lived in simple circumstances in Saxony.
With the year 1830, a period of increasing artistic productivity began once again, in which important paintings of high mastery were created, such as "The Great Enclosure" or "The Stages of Life".
Friedrich died at the age of 65 on May 7, 1840 in Dresden and was buried in the Trinitatisf cemetery.
The Artwork
- Name: Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer
- Created around: 1818
- Technique: Oil an canvas
"Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer" is a 94.8 x 74.8 cm oil painting. The picture shows a man in dark-green clothing as a back figure, supported on the mountain stick with left leg on a rocky peak of a mountain overlooking the sea of dense fog. The hiker has blond curly hair and in his right hand he holds a walking stick. Sporadically, other rocks and trees protrude from the layer of fog, the torn fog shape veils the abyss and indicates a morning.The picture is built in 2 layers, the dark rock and the hiker in the backlight are set like a backdrop against the bright panorama. The human figure was placed in the center of the painting. The identity of the hiker on the mountain top is unknown, but there is an assumption that Friedrich wanted to depict himself. Three sketches and studies, which were made during Friedrich's hike in Saxon Switzerland and Bohemia, are the main evidence that Caspar David Friedrich is the author of the unsigned painting.
