Impressions by Nature and the Human Experience

 

Wanderer above the Sea of Fog (c. 1818) by Caspar David Friedrich; Caspar David Friedrich, Hamburger Kunsthalle in Hamburg Germany

Salisbury Cathedral of the Meadows (c.1831) by John Constable. United Kingdom. Oil on Canvas.

Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh. July 1890. Van Gogh Museum. Amsterdam.

The Scream by Edward Munch. (C. 1893). National Gallery and Munch Museums in Oslo, Norway.

Impressions by Nature and the Human Experience 

            Wanderer Above the Sea Fog by Casper Friedrich, Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable, Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh, and The Scream by Edward Munch are four examples to compare landscapes to impressionist art. Landscape art utilizes watercolors, depth, and natural lighting to depict romantic period pieces. Each landscape is unique to the time it was constructed in. Spicer states, “Landscape painting had long played second fiddle to history painting. The latter sought to instruct and inform, while the former was required to be a little more than pleasing to the eye" (2014). Although landscapes are not technically defined as historical art – they create a story through the landscape that is observed through the art elements. Impressionist art helps to evoke strong emotions with hyperbole as we view figures and landscapes through various brush strokes and contrasts. Neelam observed that, “The scenes were always realistic and human figures conveyed distinct emotions and expressions” (2020). Realistic scenes that convey human emotions through exaggerated art elements created unique art to understand the human condition.

Wander Above the Sea Fog by Casper Friedrich creates a contrast between dark and light colors. The rocks against the ocean that the man is standing over elicits a feeling of wanderlust. The man is pondering over the landscape of the ocean and how it may relate to the beauty around the world behind him. The rigid and sharp lines create an anxiety or wonder around the ocean. The brightness of the ocean and daylight compared to the figure elicit this happiness that can be found in the ocean as it is explored. This landscape suggests a place for intense thought and/or solitude that can be found in the solace of nature’s beauty. Artable states, “he [Friedrich] continued to paint according to his own artistic convictions, not for approval” (2017). Friedrich’s paintings were unique in that they were curated for the artist’s eyes instead of the eye of others. Friedrich used his perspective to view the world from a solitary exploration that may have created a possible self-portrait over the sea.

The beauty of the landscape is found in the perspective of the painter and how they want the ocean to be seen through their eyes. Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows by John Constable is a religious landscape. Constable uses contrast to distinguish the sky between the architecture. The depth almost creates an illusion that makes the viewer feel as if they are viewing from afar. The depth suggests the distance of the cathedral from the water. Lastly, the dark color choices compared to the bright sky help to illuminate the broodiness of the buildings and the way architecture is its own piece of art. These two landscape pieces utilize the art elements to create different period pieces of the same theme. Both artists created art that benefited their interests and how they wanted to pass their perspective unto art consumers. The beauty of the church is defined by the light coming from the sky (heaven) unto the landscape and water below.

            Wheatfield with Crows by Vincent Van Gogh uses traditional impressionist elements. The wide brush strokes create the wheat field with the unblended colors to create the circular shapes of the wheat. The landscape creates a calming emotion as we look over the field with the crows (the black specs over the field). The contrast and only lighting in the picture is curated from the moonlight and highlights bits and pieces of the cornfield. Nighttime represents anguish or loneliness. Van Gogh Museum dictates, “Van Gogh did want his wheatfields under stormy skies to express 'sadness, extreme loneliness', but at the same time he wanted to show what he considered 'healthy and fortifying about the countryside” (2022). The natural lighting of the countryside gives the art consumer insight into the beauty of landscapes through impressionist style. The stormy weather creates the tone of the art by delivering a lonely feeling.

Unlike Van Gogh’s landscape, The Scream by Edward Munch gives us an emotive figure. The scream uses contrast between the moonlight and the figure to create lighting that only highlights the emotion we are given. The scream itself is created through neutral colors. The only color we see throughout the painting is the landscape behind the screaming man and the bright red sky. The circular creates distortion of the screaming man but keeps the background in perspective. The depth between the water, the bridge, and the man almost makes each layer appear on the same level. Every piece of the painting begins blending in with itself as we observe each aspect of it. EdwardMunchOrg stipulates, “the scream could be interpreted as expressing the agony of the obliteration of human personality by this unifying force”. (n.d). The scream is hyperbole to the describe emotions felt when being separated from comforts and others. This depicts the way people feel when they are alone despite the beauty and normalcy around them.

Landscapes and impressionism help to define the Romantic era through different forms of beauty. In conclusion, I would not necessarily own these pieces of art in my home. However, I do have a modern version of The Scream in my home with Ghostface from Scream. I prefer impressionist art for the colorful contrasts and the emotional expression through the broad-brush strokes. Each artist in the romantic era had their own agenda to portray in art during a period of loneliness and self-discovery. Everything is changing during the romantic era that created this disassociation between reality and how individuals continue to confront their emotions about change.

References

Artable. “Salisbury Cathedral from the Meadows.” Artble, 7 May 2015, https://www.artble.com/artists/john_constable/paintings/salisbury_cathedral_from_the_meadows

Artable. “Wanderer above the Sea of Fog.” Artble, 19 July 2017, https://www.artble.com/artists/caspar_david_friedrich/paintings/wanderer_above_the_sea_of_fog.

The Scream, 1893 by Edvard Munch, https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp

Neelam. “A Comparative Study of Romanticism and Impressionism Art Movements, Artists and Their Art Works.” International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts, vol. 8, no. 12, Dec. 2020, pp. 2124–2127., https://www.ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2012220.pdf

Spicer, Emily. “A Dialogue with Nature: Romantic Landscapes from Britain and Germany.” Studio International: Visual Arts, Design and Architecture, 2014, https://www.studiointernational.com/a-dialogue-with-nature-romantic-landscapes-from-britain-and-germany.

Van Gogh Museum. “Vincent Van Gogh - Wheatfield with Crows.” Van Gogh Museum, 2022, https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/collection/s0149V1962.

Wikipedia. “Wanderer Above the Sea Fog.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 9 May 2014, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wanderer_above_the_Sea_of_Fog#/media/File:Caspar_David_Friedrich_-_Wanderer_above_the_sea_of_fog.jpg.