6 Art Elevates Us

From my manuscript, Soulscape: The Paradigm of Art

The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog - Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich, The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, 1818. Kunsthalle Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany. Wikimedia Commons.

The Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog, Caspar David Friedrich presents a 19th-century red-haired man who confidently stands on top of a rugged peak, gazing out over a vast expanse of mountains and mist. The scene invites us to see the world from his perspective. His stance suggests both a commanding viewpoint and reflection, while the sweeping fog-covered landscape below gives us a sense that he is almost standing on top of the world. There are two other high peaks in the distance, suggesting there are still higher levels to aim for. Interestingly, our perspective as viewers sits a notch or two above the subject’s; a clever device that elevates us.

The Wanderer beautifully represents a 1^st century AD definition of the sublime: “The true sublime uplifts our souls; we are filled with a proud exaltation …”[1]

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[1] Longinus, On the Sublime (Peri Hypsous), ch. 7, trans. D. A. Russell, in Longinus: On the Sublime (Oxford University Press, 1964; rev. ed. 1972).