Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) was a German landscape painter working in the Romantic movement of the 19th century. Romanticism, as seen in visual art and poetry in particular, emphasized Nature as the source which instills truth in the individual; this truth is not “logical” or scientifically observable perse, as would be argued in the Enlightenment, but rather is discovered in the outpouring of strong feeling, particularly feelings of what the Romantics called the “sublime.” Sublimity is an experience of terror and awe in the presence of grandeur, most often in Nature, that causes one to be enraptured and drawn to the source of the sublime. This experience of the sublime instills an almost spiritual attainment of “higher innocence” that draws one to a place of transcendence; this experience then creates within the viewer a deep longing or yearning for something beyond, something that one cannot quite grasp – Sehnsucht. Throughout this process, one should engage with Nature and the sublime in contemplation of Nature on the outside and the individual within.
It is this contemplation that Caspar David Friedrich so frequently depicts in his paintings, as seen primarily in one of his most popular works, Two Men Contemplating the Moon (ca. 1825-1830). However, what makes this painting strange in the context of Romantic thought is the presence of two figures who seem to be in a state of contemplation together (as opposed to being contemplative individually while happening to be in the same space). For the Romantics, individuality was of great importance; as such, Romantic art and literature celebrate the solitary figure. This figure is often engaged in contemplation in solitude: we can look to the image of the Byronic hero in Gothic novels, or to William Wordsworth’s poem I wandered lonely as a Cloud. The quintessential image of the individual in solitary contemplation is Friedrich’s painting Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog (indeed, the painting is the quintessential image of the Romantic movement as a whole). Juxtaposed to the theme of solitary contemplation found throughout Romanticism and in Sea of Fog, Friedrich’s Two Men features contemplation in the company of another. This theme of contemplation with another individual is repeated throughout Friedrich’s work as a theme in Romanticism taken in a slightly different direction: contemplative togetherness.
Two Men is the focal piece for this curation on Friedrich’s use of contemplative companionship. Here we see two figures (Friedrich and a friend) gazing at the moon. Their bodies and the gnarled branches of the surrounding trees frame the moon at which they are gazing and on which they are contemplating. Notice the way in which their bodies reflect the shapes of the trees, as well as the physical contact and closeness of space between the figures; and by the nature of the painting, we too are contemplating the moon with the two men, making those involved in togetherness three rather than two. Also, notice how the next painting contrasts with the notion of shared external and internal contemplation.
Sea of Fog perfectly embodies the Romantic movement and is therefore featured on the covers and as a decorative piece for books, presentations, exhibitions, etc. of Romanticism. Unlike many of Friedrich’s other works, Sea of Fog leans into the common Romantic theme of the contemplative figure in solitude, especially one that is experiencing the sublime. First, notice the similarities in the forms of the solitary figure and the figures in Two Men, and how these similarities might emphasize a visual language of contemplation. Now, also notice the lack of other figures in Sea of Fog and the utter isolation of the figure. This image of a solitary figure is widely depicted in Romanticism, making Friedrich’s other works all the more striking.
Two Men by the Sea was painted in the same year as Sea of Fog, some ten years before Two Men Contemplating the Moon. This seems to be Friedrich’s earliest painting depicting two figures in contemplation together. Here we are presented with a vast landscape view of the sea and the sky, the latter of which dominates the space. Almost silhouetted against the pale light are two figures contemplating the sea and sky together, and very likely discussing their contemplation amongst themselves. It seems that Friedrich takes a special liking to a two-figure subject after completing this painting, as the other pieces following in this curation were painting after Two Men by the Sea. It should be noted, however, that while two figures are present, they are separated. Perhaps there is an intimacy between the two figures, but the visual emphasis of the space dividing them still bears strong hints of Romantic solitude.
Man and Woman bears a nearly identical title to the focus piece for this curation. Indeed, this painting is considered an earlier version of Two Men Contemplating the Moon. One of the first differences we can see between this painting and previous paintings is the physical contact between the two figures. The two figures are assumed to be Friedrich and a woman, perhaps his wife. If the second figure is in fact his wife, we see an additional layer of the theme of contemplative companionship building off of Friedrich’s earlier paintings: what this information and visual language imply, unlike Two Men by the Sea, is direct relational intimacy, which we also see in Two Men Contemplating the Moon. We now see contemplation as a more unifying act, more effectively creating a presence of togetherness.
Sunset (Brothers) again plays off the image of two figures together. Created around the same time as Two Men Contemplating the Moon, this painting continues the visual language of relational intimacy that creates a strong sense of communal (or at least coupled) contemplation. Like Two Men by the Sea, this painting features two men that aren’t quite in physical contact. However, the space between them is largely closed, as the shapes of the figures slightly overlap. Note how visually similar this image is to the two Contemplating the Moon paintings, especially with the positioning of the figures on the left side of the image. The latter portion of the title of this work, Brothers, also implies relational intimacy which, like the Contemplating the Moon paintings, provides greater weight to the figures’ togetherness.
Moonrise Over the Sea, painted earlier than the Contemplating the Moon images, continues Friedrich’s love for the moon in his work, but also adds a twist to his tendency towards two-figure subjects when depicting the experience of contemplation. Although this painting is dated earlier, it seems to complete a trend towards understanding and experiencing the sublime and beauty in Nature together. Rather than having only two subjects in contemplation together, Friedrich paints three figures gazing at the moon over the sea. Their poses, though different from other images in this curation, still imply a state of thoughtfulness. No doubt that in their contemplation of the external, the figures (being good Romantics) turn their thoughts internally, but do so together, building off of each other’s contemplation – a stark contrast from the solitary wanderer so often celebrated.
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