Caspar David Friedrich: Woman Before the Rising Sun/ Woman Before the Setting Sun, Part 1
This luminous painting, by the nineteenth century German artist Caspar David Friedrich, has two titles. It is sometimes known as Woman before the Rising Sun. But it is also called Woman before the Setting Sun.
Standing before, and completely absorbed by this setting sun, or rising sun, is a woman. Silhouetted against the horizon, where the distant mountains meet the yellow-orange sky, she is transfixed by a majestic light. She is experiencing nature through what Friedrich called a “sacred intuition.” And his art encourages the same orientation of the spirit in us. #GJWculture #Antiques #Art #ArtExplained #Paitting
Welcome to Seeing Art History. In this video we will study a luminous painting
by the 19th century German artist Caspar David Friedrich. Let's explore how Friedrich
selected his motif and designed his image to draw us into a state of spiritual meditation.
As you take a moment to look closely at this work, please like this video
and subscribe to Seeing Art History. This is an unusual work of art in that it has two titles.
It is sometimes known as Woman Before the Rising Sun, but it is also called Woman Before the
Setting Sun. What is even more unusual about these two titles is that they suggest antithetical
readings of the same painting. Some scholars are confident that this is morning, while others are
equally certain that this is evening, and a few art historians, myself included, are satisfied
to remain open to either possibility. It would be fully within Friedrich's artistic character
to create a work in which the viewer must figure out, by looking closely and critically,
how to experience his art. In surveys of art history, Friedrich is often included in the
loosely defined movement called Romanticism. One of the characteristics of Romanticism
was its embrace of individual experience. Romanticism recognized that each person
experiences the world in their own way. Therefore, if Friedrich created a painting
of a woman having an individual experience of spiritual rapture, and furthermore,
Friedrich challenges each viewer to determine for themselves what time of day this is,
then his art is a celebration of Romanticism in both its motif and method. And hopefully,
this question of what time of day Friedrich is depicting will encourage us to look at his
painting even more closely. Standing before and completely absorbed by this setting sun
or rising sun is a woman. Like many figures in Friedrich's art, she is seen from behind,
except for some rocks that appear to mark a path that she is standing along.
She appears to be mostly alone in the painting. It is only when we look closely at this work
that we begin to see details, such as the spire of a small church that rises out of the landscape
at the left, silhouetted against the horizon, where the distant mountains meet the yellow-orange
sky. This woman is transfixed by a majestic light. Since we can't see her face, we perceive
her experience through her pose. In awe of this transitory moment in which natural light is made
transcendent, her arms are extended, her palms are open in a gesture of reception. The light
that radiates from beyond the horizon cascades over her shoulders. This visually and spiritually
connects this woman with the infinite expanse of space that exists beyond the limits of our sight.
Perhaps, while walking along this road, this woman has been spiritually moved by what she sees.
This vision has aroused in her an adoration of the divine creator of the universe.
She is experiencing nature through what Friedrich called a sacred intuition,
and Friedrich's art encourages the same orientation of the spirit in us.