Religious symbolism in Caspar David Friedrich

Abstract

Andrews (l920~9), a dear friend and colleague * This paper was originally given at the 'Romantic Occasion' in October 1988. The numbers in square brackets after the titles of Friedrich's works are the catalogue raisonne numbers in

The Rückenfigur: A Note on an Intriguing Rear-View Pictorial Device

“…And we can share too in the emotions of the Rückenfigur . Looking at Friedrich’s picture, we can appreciate the enveloping mist, speculate on the mysticism and romanticism of the landscape, and feel the emotions of the Wanderer : “the figures have their backs towards us, and because we participate in the same visual experience we identify closely with them” (Bailey, 1990)—the viewer thus identifies himself with the Rückenfigur . The most striking evidence that the image of a person viewed from the back can induce emotion, and the relationship between figure and here its highly evocative setting, must surely be that provided by Youssuf Karsh’s famous photograph of the cellist Pablo Casals (Figure 3).…”