Romanticism in Friedrich’s “The Monk by the Sea”

Darkness, emotions, and mysticismthese are just some of the terms that send away be used to describe Fried loadeds The Monk by the sea. Produced in 1809, this oil on fuckingvass ideally characterizes the period to which the creative person belongs the Romanticism. With its subject, simulation, style, and national, the operative madely evokes the main tenets common during the Romantic advance. socio-economic classalist and thematic analyses of the fix whoremaster lead modern beders to a better understanding of the execute and the message that the artist wants to convey. Brief BackgroundCaspar David Friedrich was a German jaguar born in 1774 in Greifswald, Germany. Despite poverty, the artist received full-dress art study from artist Johann Gottfried Quistorp, who conducted art sessions outdoors. Exposure to the local color and environment thus helped the artist master the art of landscape. His paintings, which generally chance on tenets of the Romantic Age, make him hotshot of the most important artists during his while. (Vaughan, 1972, 65). Particularly, as Murray (2004, 338) notes, his landscapes get off the captureers gaze towards metaphysical dimension.His seascape titled, Monk by the Sea won admiration even from the 15-year-old King Frederick III Wilhelm of Prussia, whose purchase in 1810 declared the artists throw as his masterpiece. Analysis of Form A formalist analysis of the painting suggests the artists overall craftsmanship. minimal art best defines the style that the artist employed in his work. Basically, the see to it of the monastic, which appears precise minimal and solitary, helps achieve emphasis on the subject.The minimalist use of a variety of colors for the total background readily implies the contrast in the midst of shadower and slack that the artist wants to portray. Specifically, the submission of sliminess to loose or vice versa narrows down the color and texture of the painting. This minimalism of colo r and complex body part thus allows the author to present some characteristics ideal to Romantic art. The whole count on can be divided horizontally into three contrary parts, namely, the sky, the sea, and the land.The great expanse of the sky, which covers at least five-sixths of the canvass (Web Gallery of Art, n. d. ), attracts assist considering the light it sheds on the whole image. Through devoting much space to the sky, the artist achieves artistic drama, which is very typical of the Romantic Movement. Specifically, the center clouds where a rich combination of colors is applied, capture the motion of light breaking into the shamefulness and at the same time the darkness eating up the light. much(prenominal) drama found in genius suggests some Romantic thoughts that perplex out sentimentality from the sense of hearing.Depicting the sea with great darkness, Friedrich made it a point to limit this part to at least single-eights of the canvass. This allows the other im ages, such as the sky, the land, and the monk to take form, while it allows the purpose of showing the mend of the monk at the same time. On the one hand, the element of darkness suggests the artists dip to contemplate on the darkness of genius and its mystery. On the other, it in any case suggests the themes of death and the obscure, which other painters similarly dealt on during this time (i. e. Goya, Delaroix). The monk standing by the sea seems lost and forlorn, thus otiose to see the great storm coming. In a description by Marie von Kugelgen, one of Friedrichs followers, the lady wrote to her friend Friederike Volkmann A vast everlasting expanse of sky still, no wind, no moon, no storm thence a storm would have been some consolation for then one would at least see life and movement On the double-dyed(a) sea there is no boat, no ship, not even a sea monster, which make the loneliness even more desolate and tremendous (Web Gallery of Art).This clearly shows the initia l attention that the work garnered from the open. Widely acknowledge for the great landscapes he formerly depicted, the artist moldiness have surprise his followers with the dark portrayal of the sea coupled by the view of the monk who seems to submit himself unrelentingly to the vast rupturing sky and the deep dark sea in front of him. Nevertheless, the purchase of King Frederick III Wilhelm helped the work gain much favor it deserved. Later on, Clemens Brentanos description of the work suggests the acceptance of the work by the public.From the horrible experience the work elicited in Kugelgen, Brentano notes the splendid, infinite loneliness of the monk by the shore (Held, 2003). This shows the publics appreciation of the work, following its acceptance by the king. In Brentanos critique, we may note the contemporary viewers appreciation of the work, scorn the loneliness it presents. This also shows the ability of the viewer to occupy to the monks experience, thus reflecting the positive attitude toward the theme of death, which other Romantic artists and writers debate in their works.Further to the thematic analysis of the work, one can embrace the artists idea of communing with nature. The idea of the monk leaving the monastery in order to enjoy or contemplate the quietness and simplicity of nature strongly suggests a Romantic attitude. However, aside from portraying the greatness of nature, the view also shows that while the Romanticists regard nature as beautiful and powerful, they also view it with sensuous nuance. The dark colors of the sky and the sea affect the coming of a destructive storm.This reflects Friedrichs attempt to break the common concept of a beautiful sky at midday. Anticipating the great storm, the sense of hearing may feel a trusted concern for the monk, some fretfulness that destructs quiet contemplation. In addition, the combination of darkness and light yields the artists spontaneity and freedom. Since the monk is the o nly figure meant to appear at vertical angle, the rest of the image appears to be painted with free hand and brushstrokes that provoke at some point with a vanishing effect in the light colors of the sky.Furthermore, the solitariness of the monk asserts the Romantic idea of individualism. Using the monk as subject reveals Friedrichs attempt to explore on the thoughts and emotions of a common man. Normally looked upon for their wisdom and strength, the image of the monk amid the darkness and light somehow distracts the idea of perfection among the religious members of the society. This characteristic adheres to the Romantic Age by the artists rejection of traditional values of social social organization and religion. (Worldwide Art Resources Web Site, n. d. ) Through the use of nature, the artist reveals the monks seeming confusion and loneliness as he casts view at the sea. Although the audience may have different perceptions of the experience that the monk undergoes, the image n evertheless suggests the imperfection in the life of a monk, the loneliness that they undergo, and the request to take part in the usual activity of nature. Centering on a single hero, the work portrays the individual struggle of every monk.By making the monk turn his back from the audience, the artist portrays his contemplation. More importantly, however, this portrayal makes the monk anonymous. Depicting a monk in this way makes his experiencehis struggles and lonelinessuniversal in nature. It also suggests the commonness of the place, the scenery, and the emotion, to which viewers can possibly relate. Brentanos description of the work reflects the artists successful attempt to make the meaning universal.According to the author, the scenery allows the viewers to relate to the scene, making one feel that one has gone there, that one must return, that one would like to cross over This implies that despite the centrality of the work to the image of the monk, the audience can still r elate to the contemplative experience that Friedrich depicts. The catholicity of the subject and the surroundings makes one long to reflect on a similar struggle the audience may have had at certain points in their lives.Another Romantic characteristic that the work reflects is the artists interest in the mystical aspect of life, which he portrays through the bass and vast skies and the dark sea. As Brentano claims, these evoke mixed feelings, from the horror of one viewer, comes a grayness of the other (Held, 2003, 84). Such combination of emotions that the artist draws from the audience signifies its successful portrayal of the mystical motifs in life, such as the coalition between darkness and light, the Apocalyptic view of the skies, and the solitude that such a view creates in everyone who witnesses it.Showing the figure of the monk amid the chaotic tendency of nature suggests the mystic relation among Gods creation. Overall, the coordinate and theme that Friedrich employs i n his work consistently reflect valuable characteristics of Romantic art. Up to now, the darkness, emotions, and mysticism that the artist projects through his choice of subject, color combination, tone and structure still provide the modern audience with the same experience that viewers of the painting had in 1809.