During class, we were taught how to “dissect the visual”. I wanted to try to analyse a paintings that I liked using the methodology we were taught. I chose the painting “The Wanderer Above a Sea of Mist” by Caspar D. Friedrich (1817).
“The Wanderer Above a Sea of Mist” by Caspar D. Friedrich (1817)
The painting represents a man at the top of a mountain contemplating the clouds. He turns his back to the audience and leans on a cane. The sky and the clouds are painted in soft colour (white and pale blue) and contrast with the dense colour of the mountains (dark brown, earthly tone). The character, who is often called “the Wanderer”, wears an emerald green jacket.
The cloud are painted like waves hitting the rocks, giving an impression to be above a sea. The artist used the shading to make the horizon look infinite. On the foreground, the Wanderer and the mountain forms triangle, piercing the sky, overlooking the sea and directing the eyes of the audience to the enter of the paintings. The audience seems to follow the Wanderer, and is given an impression of power and grandiose. Yet the Wanderer seems to be overwhelm by the sky, he leans on his cane and is not in motion.
On one aspect, the painting can represents the feeling of overcoming an obstacle and reaching a goal. On the other hand, the nature seems to be untamed, grandiose. The painter shows his admirations for natural wonders, and invites the audience to appreciate it with him. The sky could represents the conscience, and the mountain, the animal and material aspect of life. The human is at the junction of the two: an animal with a conscience.
Esoterically, the mountain can be interpreted as a symbol of materiality, in contrast with the sky which represents spirituality. The Wanderer is at the top of the mountain, where the earth touches the sky. He is at the frontier of the materiality and spirituality. To an alchemist, the green in his jacket symbolises the enlightenment, the one who understand the secrets of the world. The Wanderer with his cane reminds of the tarot card the Hermit, which represents a man wandering alone with a light and a cane, but symbolises the enlightenment and the spiritual quest. In addition, the clouds resembles the sea: as above, so below.
This painting is part of the romanticism movement. In the book German Master of the Nineteenth Century, Gert Schiff (1981, pp. 10) explains that “all the aspirations of the Romantics: their desire to transcend the boundaries of the ego and of the known world; their interest in the occult in nature and in the soul“ pushed the painter to go further into their representation of the world.
This paintings is rich in meaning that transcends the painter original thoughts. When digging deeper then what meets the eyes, it leaves a surreal and powerful impression on the viewer.
Bibliography
Chevalier, J. and Gheerbrant, A. Dictionnaire des symboles (1982). Paris: Robert Laffon and Jupiter.
Friedrich, C. D. (1817) The Wanderer Above a Sea of Mist [Oil on canvas]. Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg.
Hamburger Kunsthalle (2018) Nineteenth Century. Available at: https:// www.hamburger-kunsthalle.de/en/nineteenth-century (Accessed: 7 December 2018)
Walter, E. (ed.), German Master of the Nineteenth Century (1981). : New York: Metropolitan Museum of New York.