This is a landscape painting by the artist Caspar David Friedrich, he was a German artist born in the 19th century landscape paintings were rooted in spirituality and nature. This painting is called 'wanderer above the sea of fog, it was created during the 1800s at a time when romanticism was a popular style of art within Europe. In German, Romanticism was a way of expressing yourself as an artist, it celebrated the depiction of nature, but most importantly it showcased the bond between man and nature. In this painting we can a see a man standing above a foggy horizon of mountains; we can also see some rocks appearing through the fog. I feel like this gives the painting a very mysterious feel. The artist often used fog within his paintings to reflect the infinite power of creation in nature. With that being said, Friedrich was a strong Christian, so most of his landscape paintings reflected the magnificence of God. Friedrich was also known for making political statements in his work, the clothing that the figure wears in this painting was worn by students during the German war of liberation. When this paining was created, tis clothing was not allowed to be worn therefore, by Friedrich creating this painting it was almost like he was going against the government (The Art Story, 2017).
This is a land art piece by the artist Michael Heizer called the "nine nevada depressions", he was an American artist born in 1944. Heizer's speciality was in large scale site sculptures and lard art furthermore, he was also recognised for his environmental structures which he began making in the late 60s. This land art was made in the dry lakes of Nevada, in this photo we can see a sea blue sky with clouds and rocky mountains. With that being said, there is also a large scale of dry land with intricate cracks and a deep zigzag carved into the ground. The zigzag being placed within the middle of the composition creates a bold statement, it almost looks like it could be a path. I like the works of Heizer because he emerges his art within the natural world, he wanted to show the relationship between negative and positive space. On the other hand, a lot of Heizer's work was inspired by his father Robert Fleming Heizer who was an anthropologist. His father would show him the landscapes of Nevada, Bolivia, California and Peru, this exposure had a great influence on his artwork. I believe that Heizer's work could show that natural elements of the world can still be used to make art.
References
The Art Story. (2017). Caspar David Friedrich. [online] Available at: https://www.theartstory.org/artist/friedrich-caspar-david/.
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