Monk by the Sea- Caspar Friedrich
Even though this painting will run through text, it needs to be seen in the largest form possible, to see the monk and the sea. Having come out of two strange and terrible weeks, including the first of the New year, I think this painting sums up where we are now - facing a vast unknown, but not without hope.
The broad expanses of sea and sky emphasize the meager figure of the monk, standing before the vastness of nature and the presence of God. The scene is solemn and still, giving us a feeling of gloom and uneasiness, yet captivating. One asks, what is this monk doing there, what is he thinking?
The monk looks vulnerable and alone, yet the light in the sky perhaps is a sign of coming good weather. And a hope for good things to come. A sign of the presence of God in our lives.
The artist is Caspar David Friedrich (1774 - 1840), a German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes, which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning mists, barren trees or Gothic ruins. His primary interest was the contemplation of nature, and his often symbolic and anti-classical work seeks to convey a subjective, emotional response to the natural world. Friedrich's paintings characteristically set a human presence in diminished perspective amid expansive landscapes, reducing the figures to a scale that, which is certainly seen in the above painting..
The painting below, Seashore by Moonlight, also gives us the eerie feeling of darkness and aloneness, yet there is a light in the distance, which gives hope, as does Christ, who bring us Light into our dark world.
As Caspar Frederich said, “a painter should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within himself.” Good thought for all of us in these dark winter days.
