Caspar David Friedrich 'Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog' 1818 and William Henry Jackson 'In the

Rockies 1873'.

Caspar David Friedrich, 'Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog' 1818

About Caspar David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich was born 5th September 1774 he was a 19th century German romantic artist, he was considered the most important German artist of his generation. In 1818 he painted a oil on canvas painting called 'Wanderer above the sea of fog' (also known as wondered above the mist).

First Views on the Photograph Composition, Objects/Subjects

The picture shows a man dressed up smarting, looking out into the mist, he is classed an a wanderer in both of the names used for this picture, I think that Friedrich painted him with a stick as it is the stereotypical tool for explorers to have.

The painting has a very equal focus and a very deep depth of field, the man and the mountain almost have a shadow covering all of it, you can only see a small amount of the detail on the mounting and a bit more on the mans blazer.

The Picture and the Name

When you first look at this photo it looks as if the man is looking out to sea but when you look closely you see that there are mountain tops appearing from the top of the fog which may indicate that instead of there being sea, you may just be looking at fog from the mountain tops. The name sea of fog also makes you think about this you are looking out to sea or rather a 'sea of fog'. When you look at this picture it could also depict the land that this man has discovered.

The History at the Time

In history at this time the treaty of 1818 was taking place between America and the United Kingdom, which established the Northern boundary from the Lakes of the Woods to the Rocky Mountain. This picture could also be referring to the 1818 treaty and how the Americans took over the Rocky Mountains.

William Henry Jackson 'In the Rockies 1873'.

About William Henry Jackson

William Henry Jackson was born on the 4th April 1843, he was an American painter, civil war veteran, geological survey photographer and an explorer famous for his images of the American West.

First Views on the Photograph Composition, Objects/Subjects The photograph I am looking at of this is a picture from
in the Rockies, when looking this picture up there isn't much information about this picture alone but there is about Jackson's whole In the Rockies series.
The photograph has a shallow depth of field, with the mountain being very sharp and the mountains in the background being slightly out of focus, this makes you focus more on the on the mountain that the man is standing on. This makes the background not distract from the main subject.

The object that the man is holding looks as if it is a camera, Jackson might be trying to represent himself

Comparison of Both Photographs.

When you first look at both of these photograph you instantly can see a similarity between them, as with Friedrich's painting it looks as if you are looking from behind and with Jackson's photo it looks like you are looking from the side. Another difference between the pictures is that Jackson's photo looks very real which helps it being a photograph but the way that Friedrich's has painted his picture it doesn't look realistic, because of the clothing the man is dressed in and the mountains in the background.

BY ZOE COOMBES