I have been really enjoying writing for my new series 'My Favourite Paintings' on my blog - if you haven't seen these posts please check them out! I love sharing the work and artists with you that I find amazing and inspiring, and I also love talking about why I love them and how I feel about them, in a non-academic, non-pretentious (I hope!) way. Art can inspire such real and raw human emotions in people and it is this that I wanted to focus on and write about here.
I didn't want to miss a post in this series this month, so instead I decided to share a painting that fits into Blogmas nicely with a wintry, Christmassy theme! It is a painting (or perhaps two paintings - I will explain this later) by one of the most important artists of the German Romantic movement, Caspar David Friedrich, who lived from 1774 to 1840. This is an artist who's work I find, honestly, breathtaking. When I look at his paintings, I don't even really see a painting; I just experience feelings, see light, darkness and life. His speciality is definitely the landscape - there is a wonderful quote from him about his intentions for his paintings; he said a painting should 'reflect the artist's soul and emotions in the landscape'. I think this truly shines through in his work!
The painting that I have chosen for this post is called 'Winter Landscape'. However, there is an interesting story to this painting, which is that two almost identical versions of this painting exist! The first has been located at the Museum für Kunst und Kulturgeschichte der Stadt Dortmund since 1940 and is actually titled 'Winter Landscape with a Church'. The second was discovered in a private collection in 1982 and moved to the National Gallery, London - this one is simply called 'Winter Landscape'. Only one version of this painting was recorded in documents at the time of the artist, so which is the original?
Winter Landscape with a Church - Dortmund
Winter Landscape - London
Well, both paintings have been closely examined by the experts, infrared technology has also been used to study the under-paintings, and they are both said to be dated around 1811. Although they look almost identical, they are not quite; In the painting from London we can see blades of grass sticking up in the foreground of the painting, as well as a gate in front of the church. The church itself in the London painting is much more detailed in it's architecture and this painting is altogether more precise in it's technique, which is very typical of Caspar David Friedrich's work. The painting in Dortmund is a little more vague, sparse and hazy, we don't get so much architectural detail in the church, just a foggy silhouette and the technique is much more broad. From this we can discern that the London painting is probably the original and the Dortmund painting could have been made by a student. In fact, it is so close that it could even have been copied straight from the original, maybe even my Friedrich himself.
There are so many things to see in this painting. There is a man, leaning on the ground against a large boulder, praying to Christ on the crucifix, his crutches thrown to the side. We could gather that he is a weary traveller, perhaps he is sick and near the end of his life, which is why he is praying. Perhaps he is going to die here and he is looking for salvation or a saviour from Jesus. The church in the distance rises up, almost like the fir trees. Are these structures intimidating? Perhaps they are symbolically pointing up towards the heavens, where this man will go, signalling some kind of life after death. The blades of grass that are poking up through the snow (in the London painting) might be trying to signify new life, but new life for this man?
Something that I absolutely love about this painting is the colour, or lack of it. Instead I see just tones and gradual change in light, which I think fits the story in the painting perfectly. I find the purplish twilight to be very beautiful - perhaps this too reflects the end of this man's life, his own twilight. If you look very closely at the painting, you will see also that the technique that Friedrich has used is stippling, which is where the paint has been applied in lots of small dots instead of broad brush strokes. I think this gives the painting a depth and makes it so interesting to look at.
With all these possible meanings to the painting, we have to admit that it is absolutely beautiful. Friedrich said that a painting should always evoke emotions, either of joy or sadness, and I think this painting does just that.
Follow my blog with BloglovinLabels: Culture
