Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog
Caspar David Friedrich’s Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, painted around 1818. It’s considered a masterpiece of Romanticism, and it speaks to the human need for verticality. Friedrich shows a man who has climbed to a mountain peak, surveying his world below.
Climbing to the top of a mountain is the closest a person can get to escaping the earth’s surface without taking flight. It’s a triumph over gravity, and it gives the climber a great sense of accomplishment as well as a command over the surrounding landscape. The painting shown above encapsulates all of this beautifully. It was painted around 1818 by Caspar David Friedrich, and it’s called Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog.
Wanderer is wonderfully atmospheric. Friedrich puts us behind his subject, so we get to see what he sees. He stands on a mountain peak with wind-whipped hair and a walking stick at his side. The wanderer surveys the surrounding landscape with an air of confidence, as if he’s just conquered it. Looking out, he can see shorter peaks poking up through the swirling clouds and fog below. It feels as if he’s escaped the chaos-filled world below and ascended to a higher plane of calmness and reflection. He’s achieved verticality.
Friedrich perfectly encapsulates the feeling of climbing a mountain. His wanderer has conquered the peak, and in the process has raised himself above the clouds. He stands tall, in defiance of the challenge he just completed and he enjoys the magnificent view he has thus earned. It’s a tough feeling to describe, but the painting does it wonderfully.
Caspar David Friedrich’s Chalk Cliffs on Rügen from 1818. The painting shows three figures looking out to the sea through a white rock formation. There is symbolism throughout the work, but at its core the painting speaks to the human need for verticality.
Another of Friedrich’s paintings, pictured above, deals with similar themes. Also painted in 1818, Chalk Cliffs on Rügen shows three figures looking out to sea through a white rock formation. This work is different fromWanderer, however. Here, his subjects aren’t at the peak, which gives the work a different feel. There is no sense of accomplishment or command over the landscape. One of the subjects just seems to be enjoying the view, while the other two are more focused on each other rather than their surroundings.
The difference between the two paintings illustrates the importance of reaching the peak for a mountain climber. The purest feeling of accomplishment is only felt when the highest point has been reached.
Check out more examples of verticality in the arts.