Wanderer Above The Sea Of Fog Essay

I think Caspar Friedrich's Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, the first painting, is a depiction of the unforeseeable nature of the future. Because Wanderer literally translates to "hiker" instead of necessarily "one who wanders," the subject isn't necessarily aimless or lost. This painting is likely a self-portrait depicting Friedrich's view of the future. He is pictured in a fairly neutral stance, not particularly indicative of the magnitude of ambition seen in other paintings, so I think one can conclude that he's looking forward to what's ahead of him instead of actively seeking something out. This painting's motif seems similar to that of Robert Frost's The Road not Taken with its use of the majesty of nature e to represent the journey of life.
The second painting, Henry Fuseli's The Nightmare, depicts a woman laying down, being haunted by a demon and a horse. I believe this painting is a depiction of Fusel's marriage proposal being rejected by the father of his lover, and his lover later marrying another man. This dramatic composition provokes a feeling of fear and ambiguity, especially since the term nightmare itself is fairly mundane in its literal form. The woman is the only light aspect of the painting, and light colors typically represent purity and innocence, so the chromatic contrast tells the viewer that both the
Liberty, the manifestation of the idea of liberty through a woman, is seen leading different men through battle, showing a feeling of transcendental unification among people through a desire for freedom. Even though the battlefield is shown to be filled with cadavers and filth, Liberty remains clean and unscathed; this shows that throughout all the struggles during the French Revolution, the value of liberty remained untarnished. All the men are following Liberty, and this represents the populous’ innate motivation to protect its