Wanderer above the Sea of Fog, 1818
Caspar David Friedrich
Oil on canvas · 94.8 x 74.8 cm
A lone figure on a peak surveying a sea of fog — Romanticism's defining image.
A lone figure stands on a crag, back turned, gazing over a sea of fog — Friedrich's 1818 image has become the very symbol of Romanticism and solitary wonder. We see what he sees, drawn into the sublime vastness beyond the peaks.
What you're looking at
The place does not exist. Friedrich assembled the rocks from separate drawings made in the Elbe Sandstone Mountains and fitted them together into a viewpoint no one can stand on. The figure is almost exactly in the centre of the canvas, which painters are usually taught not to do, and his hair is blowing while the fog below sits perfectly still.
On a Frame TV
About 7:9. Matted file — the clean crop takes either the figure or the drop below him. It reduces to a single strong silhouette, which is the rare thing that survives being seen from the far side of a room.
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- 4K master file (3840px+)
- Samsung Frame TV–ready crop
- Phone wallpaper crop
- Printable art card
Public domain · one .zip, no sign-up
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Other works in the collection, starting with Caspar David Friedrich.
