Caspar David Friedrich, traveler contemplating a sea of clouds

Traveler Contemplating a Sea of Clouds (Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer) is a painting by the German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich. He was born in 1774 in Greifswald and died in 1840 in Dresden. He was the leading exponent of German Romantic painting, and his most important field was landscape painting. Short biography He lived with his family in Greifswald, a German territory which belonged to the Swedish crown. His father was a Protestant candle maker, and he was the sixth of nine brothers. His childhood was tragic: his father and three of his brothers died in a short time, and one drowned while saving Caspar. He studied Fine Arts at the University of Copenhagen and traveled throughout Germany during Napoleon's conquest of German territories, which he opposed. He took notes and made sketches of what he saw to later draw inspiration for his works. He was admitted to the Academy of Berlin and that of Dresden. He married Caroline Bommer and they had 3 children and a daughter. His favorite genres are landscapes, mountains and the sea especially. He is very realistic in his way of painting, he draws inspiration from existing landscapes for his paintings. He creates his own style, where representations of nature are metaphors for states of mind. In Traveler contemplating a sea of fog , represents a man, from behind, mounted on a rock looking at an infinity of mountain peaks and the clouds that cover them. It is in the center of the image, covering the vanishing point. In the background we can see mountains higher than the others which rise above the sea of clouds. Another layer of clouds covers the sky, the luminosity of the painting is good, the light is clear, but we cannot see the sun, this gives mystery to his painting. There is no vegetation except for a few small trees on the tops of the rocks, very far from the character to appreciate them. He is dressed in a long black jacket and carries a cane. The representation of the character from behind is made so that we identify with the character, we are given the traveler's point of view to observe this landscape. The traveler is therefore the one who transmits Friedrich's thoughts to us, acting as a simple spectator. It highlights the enormity of nature in relation to us, which makes us insignificant, small compared to this enormous immensity. The traveler has one goal: the search for nature, the only element that will allow him to escape, to do his own research and to find meaning in his life. The character is therefore a romantic in all his splendor: in search of solitude, nature and forms of escape, of letting his personality misunderstood in society make a little sigh. The realism of the painting makes the thoughts and feelings of the traveler more real to us, we do not seem to be in another universe, but in the same situation as this character. The rock on which he observes the landscape represents the faith, imperturbable and sure to which Friedrich is very attached. However, he is therefore a Christian man, who believes in something certain, even if it is in constant change. The marvelous landscape mixed with the mist that covers the mountains and the clear light is reminiscent of religious mysticism. The traveler can be confused with the painter himself: we do not know if it is Friedrich the one in the painting or another anonymous man who represents his same ideals of life and thought. This painting is therefore a romantic painting which perfectly represents this romantic mentality to which Friedrich belonged. This painting is made in his image: it represents his same beliefs, and his same tastes to the point of not knowing if it is him or another person. Everything is in a realistic setting which characterizes the painter Caspar David Friedrich.

A man with his back to the spectator is standing on a steep precipice in the foreground. He holds a walking stick in his right hand and is clad in a dark green overcoat. The vagrant, his hair blowing in the wind, looks out over a countryside shrouded in a dense sea of fog. Several other ridges protrude from the pile in the center area; these may be similar to the ones the wanderer stands upon. Forests of trees are visible atop these escarpments through wreaths of fog. In the far distance, lowland plains on the right softly level out into faded mountains on the left. Past this point, the engulfing mist continues on forever, finally blending into the sky and losing its distinct appearance from the cloud filled sky
Friedrich was a vocal advocate of the liberal and nationalist sentiments in Germany. The Napoleonic Wars of 1803–1815 caused significant disruption and undermined the power of the old German princely kingdoms. German nationalists pushed for the unification of Germany as well as the overthrow of the German Confederation's conservative aristocracy and leadership. Altdeutsche ("Old German") attire, a revival of a heroic, undivided Germany of the 1500s–1600s, and the era of Martin Luther, was one way German liberals identified themselves and demonstrated their support. Friedrich and other nationalists so associated themselves with the restoration of a lost national greatness. In line with Koerner and others, art historian Norbert Wolf has claimed that the figure in Wanderer above the Sea of Fog makes a political statement for the time period in which the painting was created by dressing in an Altdeutsche costume. According to some academics, the figure is dressed in an infantry Jäger outfit. © Fine Art Expertises LLC