Artist: Casper David Friedrich
Title: Abbey in the Oak forest
Date: 1810
Media: Oil on Canvas
Size: 110.4cm
x 170cm
Location: Schloß Charlottenburg, Berlin.
Life
of the Artist
Casper David Friedrich, born in
1774 on September the 5th, was an influential landscape painter from
the nineteenth century German Romantic movement. Friedrich studied in
Copenhagen before he settled in Dresden. Overtime, the materialistic nature of
society caused Friedrich to become disillusioned, leading to his appreciation
of spiritualism. As Germany moved towards modernism, Friedrich’s contemplative
depictions were no longer relevant to the new age. Friedrich’s artworks mainly
focused on the contemplation of nature. He
often created symbolic and anti-classical works which seeks to convey the
spiritual experiences of life.
Structural
Frame
The structural frame of the work
conveys a depressing tone. This is shown through the colour, line, tone,
texture, shape and the symbols used. Friedrich use of dark colours immediately
alert the audience that the work is of a more depressing and gloomy nature,
rather than a bright and colourful piece of art. The work also consists of a
mixture of organic and inorganic lines. The organic lines are used for the trees
and the inorganic lines are used for the structure in the centre of the
artwork. The material of oil on canvas that has been used gives it a rough
texture. More than half of the painting is filled with a misty sky compared to
the foreground where it is more shadowed. The trees are stripped of leaves and
lacking life, giving a dreary feeling. The theme of death is also portrayed
through the graveyard seen in the foreground. Amongst the gravestones are monks
working towards the structure in the centre, an abandoned abbey which again
adds to the feeling of no life. These ambiguous figures add to the eerie
atmosphere as they appear small and seem to be gravestones themselves.
Subjective
Frame
Friedrich uses different aspects
of the painting to convey his emotions through a morbid tone. This is done
through his strong use of colour and symbols. Friedrich could be trying to
express emotions such as loneliness or alienation, seen through his use of dark
colours. Colours such as grey and black are usually used to represent the idea
of loss and despair. The symbols of the gravestones and the abandoned ruins of
an old abbey further portray these emotions. The trees seen the painting,
stripped of their leaves, give an eerie feeling as they are depicted to be
lacking life, this is the opposite of how trees usually are used to symbolise
life and colour.
My
opinion of the work
I believe the piece is very well
done as the tone Friedrich is trying to convey is clear and noticeable. My
impression of the work is that it is extremely depressing and scary. The
unnatural way the trees are formed, the gravestones and appropriate use of
colour are all used to make people feel uncomfortable, in my opinion, Friedrich
successfully does this. These elements add to the way Friedrich is able to
successfully convey his emotions of depression and despair.
Bibliography
‘Casper
David Friedrich: Home’ [online] 2014 Available: http://www.caspardavidfriedrich.org/ [Accessed: 3rd September 2014]
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