Function and purpose
relation to how it was viewed by other
Friedrich is thought to have been a
very personal painter, as was
common during the romantic period.
He is quoted saying “The painter
should paint not only what he has in
front of him, but also what he sees
inside himself. If he sees nothing
within, then he should stop painting
what is in front of him.”, which puts
into perspective how this painting
(and his paintings in general) was
created with the expressed purpose
of showcases his feelings. This
painting was made the year Friedrich
married, so may been made with the
intention of expressing his own
complex emotions, but it could have
also been a product of his Christian
teachings, with him being influenced
by Ludwig Gotthard Kosegarten,
who discussed similar themes about
the association of nature with
religion. In this way, the painting
may have been a means to release his
feelings to religion, expressing for
example, the greatness of the
Christian God through his revelationscolour as similar to the wanderer in the
in nature.
Citation:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Casp sorts
ar-David-Friedrich 29/1/23
Baltic Light: Early Open-air Painting in
Denmark and North Germany (ISBN
0-300-08166-9)
https://www.britannica.com/topic/Wanderer
-Above-the-Sea-of-Fog 31/1/23
This portrait of friedrich shows his hair
painting. Perhaps he intended to create
the painting with him as a self insert of
In terms of what purpose may be in
people, the perspective, looking at the
wanderer from behind upon the same
view suggests that Friedrich may have
wanted to share the view, with
intention of inducing a sense of awe,
or some other strong emotion, whether
that be fear or confusion, once again,
expressing this idea of nature and the
sublime. He may have also have
wanted to create a sense of mystery, in
the viewer, which is suggested
through the back view, which in itself,
conceals much about the wanderer
(what he looks like, his expression,
etc.), while the use of fog continues to
perpetuate this idea of mystique,
where one is lead to come t their own
conclusion about what may be
concealed.
Part of a portrait of
C D Friedrich by
Johann Karl Bahr
https://en.wikipedia.
org/wiki/File:Carl_J
ohann_Baehr_-_Bil
dnis_des_Malers_C
aspar_David_Friedr
ich.jpg 31/11/23