Caspar David Friedrich was a German painter of scenes depicting people at natural landscapes and moments before the sunset or sunrise. For me, his painting called “Woman at a Window” is very similar to many of his works in that it features a single figure that requires you contemplation about life.
This oil in canvas work was finished in 1822 at Greifswald, Germany. The woman in the painting is no other than Friedrich’s wife, Caroline Bummer, who married him in 1818. We see her from behind looking out of the small window of his studio in Dresden. Reflecting on this painting, we do not merely see a woman’s figure from behind. Instead, we try to be her and see that moment through her eyes. We try determining what she feels and imagining what her life was like being confined in a room with such a limited view of the outside world.
We notice that there is another window above her and it is closed. It has this little wood framing of a cross. This means that spirituality must have been an important aspect of her life above anything else. It is also apparent that she may have had a limited view of the outside world and the only access she gets is through this window. More importantly, we will notice that outside, there is a ship and a coastline with trees. She must have been at a harbor. At this point in time, the ship was slowly passing by. Its mast is closed but seems to be moving forward. This could be a metaphor of her life as she watches it slowly pass before her. All of the things she sees with her eyes will move forward and still, she would be in the same place doing the same things.
We also notice the strictness in the geometry of this painting. We have a very enclosed space created with the use of horizontal and vertical lines. However, the figure of his wife and the mast of the ship outside her window did not follow the strictness of the lines. Caroline is slightly tilted to the left and the mast, slightly to the right which creates the impression that it is moving forward. The painting primarily uses warm colors, particularly sepia, by observing how the window was opened and how the light came in. Friedrich saw the importance of reflecting light on one side of the window, Caroline’s dress and subtly, the bottles near near her. It’s as if we are being invited to look out for ourselves and see what is beyond this constricted and dark place. It also reveals the mood of loneliness which Caroline must have felt at that time.
This painting is one of the less popular works of Friedrich as it was made primarily for his personal interest. It currently resides at the Alte Nationalgalerie or the Old National Gallery in Berlin, Germany.
St. George is a statue carved by the Italian painter and sculptor Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, or simply Donatello, between 1415 and 1417. It was commissioned by a guild of armorers and swordsmiths in Florence known locally as Arte dei Corazzai e Spadai. It was initially installed in Orsanmichele which was the main public facility and church of the Florentine guilds back then.
The original version of St. George was made of marble and stands at a height of six feet and five inches. The statue features a more natural-looking figure in contrast to the stiffness of Gothic sculptures which was very evident before the period of Renaissance. The sculpture of St. George originally carried with it a genuine sword and protective helmet that were produced by the guild themselves. During those times, the armorers’ guild was considered inferior and prohibited from using bronze for their niche which explains why the marble version’s original bronze military equipment was removed. It became ironic in 1892 when the original St. George was relocated to Museo Nazionale del Bargello and a bronze copy was installed as a replacement in Orsanmichele.
The inspiration behind Donatello’s sculpture is St. George. He is considered an iconic Christian saint for his outstanding fearlessness and faith in saving a princess from being sacrificed by slaying a dragon. Scholars during the 1400s were very concerned about educating and setting a role model for young men in Florence. Men during those times were considered troublemakers and St. George was just the ideal, perfect opposite that scholars could have suggested for Donatello. It also speaks highly of the guild it represents because St. George stood for bravery and determination that were fitting descriptions for the circumstances of the armorers and swordsmiths.
St. George was made at the time when human sculptures were very stiff and rigid. The sculptures were made emotionless and had no facial expressions. In this work, Donatello introduced the idea of weigh-shifting on the assumption that humans, in fact, are not stiff and rigid in real life. They actually move in very fluid motions as we shift our weight from one leg to another. This work is popular since it is one of Donatello’s earliest work that gave way to the creation of the technique called schiacciato, or shallow relief. It is also famous by bearing great significance as a part of Italy’s history of Roman heroism and religious dedication.
Caspar David Friedrich was a German painter of scenes featuring the beauty of natural landscapes, scenes of sunrise and sunset. For me, his work on “Chalk Cliffs on Rügen” is the most beautiful and as such, I chose to write about this particular painting.
This oil on canvas work by Friedrich was inspired by their honeymoon in 1818, the year of his marriage. It currently resides in Museum Oskar Reinhart at Winterthur, Switzerland.
In the summer of 1818, the newlyweds went to visit relatives from the east cities. From there, they went on a honeymoon trip to Rügen with his brother, Christian. The couple and his brother are found in this painting. The standing man is the Friedrich’s brother and the one in the middle is the older Friedrich who is looking down at the uncertain future ahead which his wife was pointing to. It also featured the chalk cliffs of Stubbenkammer, one of the most famous vantage points of Rügen.
The artist made use of the continuous line with his painting of the horizon and emphasized hue on the chalk cliffs with the reflection of light which resulted to a three-dimensional appearance of the painting. The type of work that Friedrich does is that of German Romanticism. This is evident in the painting. It tries to depict the allegory of love highlighted by the heart-shaped outline of the leaves with the ground.
The choice of colors for the characters’ clothing is also symbolic of the Christian virtues: love, faith and hope. His wife personifies love, denoted by red. Faith is appropriately assigned to his curious, and older self, denoted by blue while Christian personifies hope, denoted by green. The artwork was not highly recognized because it did not strongly challenge the political and religious aspects of their time.
References:
- Herman, D. (2013). Chalk Cliffs on Rügen. Retrieved from http://www.cuchicago.edu/Documents/Academics/College%20of%20Arts%20and%20Sciences/art/Art%20Lessons/Friedrich,%207th,%20Chalk%20Cliffs%20on%20Rugen,%20SEPTEMBER.pdf
- Paoletti, J. T., & Radke, G. M. (2005). Art in Renassaince Italy. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=EFhVehAvVyUC
- Wolf, N. (2003). Caspar David Friedrich, 1774-1840: The Painter of Stillness. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=kJp8TyaFsFYC
My admiration of artworks makes my life a little more interesting. Although I feel that I have so much to learn about art, my constant reading of how paintings and sculptures are being interpreted based on the colors used, the lines drawn, the texture, etc. influences me in my open-mindedness about appreciating art. Before, I do not really bother what an artist would want to tell me from his work. If it appears to be beautiful, then I would consider it as such and move on.
With my wider understanding about the talent and skill that it takes to actually move people’s hearts by admiring your work, I feel as if I am becoming less judgmental of people. Not only confined in why a person would prefer such painting or sculpture over another, I feel as if it is better to keep silent about the differences of people’s choices unless you have put yourself in his shoes or learned the reason behind that preference. In that way, we learn to be more admirable to one another despite no common ground for certain admirations.
When I look at life and how it’s supposed to be colorful, it is actually inevitable to think that I am an artist myself. It’s just that unlike the artists that we read, the work we are trying to finish takes a very long time. It takes our whole lives. If we live not knowing if we could be so much more because we never try to go beyond our comfort zones, we are just like the Caroline in Friedrich’s Woman at a Window. It may provide stability as how the lines are strictly straight in the painting but we would be unconsciously living very sad lives in that we are actually tilted and out of balance because of our curiosity of what could be more when we never try.
Also, we may be very happy at times that it makes all the difference. Our choices may be affected for the love of another soul. Like Friedrich who spent many hours painting his wife in many of his works, we could also be doing what we are doing now for the love of another person. If we are in a competition, we may be doing our best to win not because we really want the glory that comes with winning but because we want to honor the teacher who honestly dedicated his time for the love of his discipline and his perseverance for our learning.
Even at times when we feel like everything seems to chase after our failure, hope comes along because someone cares and seems to already be a part of you. That for me, is how art is a part of my life. It is not that there is art because I study it, it’s because I am God’s work of art and this whole life is my artwork. Whatever I choose to do with my life, it is reflected in my art – colorful for the most part or saddened with darker shades of sorrow.
References:
- Halprin, D. (2002). The Expressive Body in Life, Art, and Therapy: Working with Movement, Metaphor and Meaning. Retrieved from http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=BkKBGP-2PHcC
- Haynes, D. (2003). Art Lessons: Meditations on the Creative Life. Retrieved from
http://books.google.com.ph/books?id=KJ4MCKKSkAEC
