The wanderer over the Nebel sea
Caspar David Friedrich's painting "The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog" is certainly well known to you. In school, an inner monologue of the lonely wanderer should often be written on this. Even if this task seems very complex to you at first glance, working with the picture is very individual and you may even enjoy it.
The wanderer over the Nebel sea
- The painting is a work by the early romantic Caspar David Friedrich from 1818 and is certainly not unknown to you. A lonely wanderer - he is supposed to be a self-portrait of Friedrich - is the focus of the work. He stands high on a rock, leans on a hiking stick and looks down into the mist-shrouded valley - the so-called sea of fog.
- Figures from the back are very typical of Caspar David Friedrich. So you only see the man on the rock from behind. On the one hand, the aim of such a representation is of course the mysterious, since you will never know what the figure looks like from the front. On the other hand, this is a very popular stylistic device that almost draws you, the viewer, into the picture, because you are exactly into the same Look in the direction like the protagonist of the picture and thus see exactly the same thing as he and put yourself in the shoes of the figure can.
An inner monologue is very individual
- An inner monologue requires you to put yourself in the shoes of a stranger. Friedrichs Wanderer is absolutely predestined for this due to its rear view and is therefore always popular with teachers for the task.
- In such a monologue you will be asked to work out the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist, So to write down everything that usually only takes place inside a person purely mentally and not through language penetrates outside. So you are being asked to be too creative in this task.
- If you have a hard time getting into other people's fictional minds, so can you Imagine that the person is writing a journal entry about their inner feelings and emotions writes down.
Image analysis in art using the example of Romanticism
Erwin's step model, which is well known in art, is suitable for image analysis ...
Here's how you go about the task
- First take a closer look at the picture and actually try to identify yourself with the hiker above the sea of fog and take his place on the rock. For example, ask yourself what he's doing there and how he got there.
- An inner monologue is always written in the first person and in direct speech. Start by writing down the person's potential thoughts. Is he standing on the rock because he fled something, perhaps his problems? Think of problems that could have led him to flee. Always compare with yourself to find new ideas: Are there any family problems? Difficulties at work? Or is it perhaps a purely spiritual emptiness?
- Or is he just standing in this lonely place because he was looking for a place of absolute silence to ponder? Is it perhaps just the great natural spectacle that made him undertake the long hike? You can see that you can basically let your imagination run wild here.
- Your monologue could begin with the following words: "Now I am standing here, at the top of the rock, looking down. Here I have the feeling of being very far away from the worries and problems of everyday life... to be free. I can barely see the valley through the fog. As far away and covered by the sea of fog as it seems to me from up here, so far away are all the hardships up here that force me to my knees down there every day anew. It almost seems deceptively peaceful, as it lies down there under a layer of gray cloud... "
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