The Sea of Ice - Art Blog #2

One of the many benefits of studying the humanities is realizing the vastness of human imagination. Borrowing liberally from this limitless reservoir, it is possible to envision this planet we share as adopting human form, with Europe as its beating heart. The continent has witnessed the rise and fall of many eras and movements - historical, intellectual and cultural - and just as life-giving blood is propelled throughout the body from the heart, so too have these movements spread outward from their source to impact the rest of the world.

The Romantic Movement, or Romanticism, originated in the latter half of the 18th century and was one such movement. Although officially coming to a close around 1830, it never really ended, for its impact is still felt throughout the world today. Coming on the heels of the Enlightenment, which downplayed nature while emphasizing human achievement, Romanticism turned people's hearts and minds back toward the physical world around them. Artists became inspired by the power and beauty of the natural world, and paintings of the Romantic Movement attest to this new interest in nature.



One of the pioneers in romantic paintings was Caspar David Friedrich. Born in Swedish Pomerania (now part of Germany) in 1774, Friedrich is considered to have been one of the foremost German painters of the Romantic era. He began studying art just as the strict influences of the Enlightenment were submitting to the artistic expressions of the Romantic Movement, and his paintings clearly show the influence nature had upon him. Specializing in land and seascapes, his paintings often portray compelling scenery enveloped by mist or clouds, with human figures - if there are any - usually depicted in silhouette. Many have a dream-like quality, which is appropriate, for Friedrich described his inspiration as occasionally coming from dreams.



Perhaps the most famous of Friedrich's paintings is The Sea of Ice.



Our first glance draws us directly to the huge mountain of ice that has been thrust upward at an intriguing angle, and we cannot help but think of the powerful forces of nature that came together to produce such an image. We also notice the variations in color which add to the painting's drama - the dark blues, browns and tans of the jagged ice contrasted with the serene light blues of the sky and background ice pack.

But there is more to this compelling scene than just nature's power. As the painting's alternate title - The Wreck of Hope - describes, Friedrich has depicted a shipwreck entombed in the ice. This is HMS Griper, one of two ships that took part in William Edward Parry's 1819-1820 ill-fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage to the North Pole.

The stern of the ship is just visible to the right of the broken ice. Lying as it does on its port side, one can imagine the ship's masts and rigging extending to the upper left in the same direction as the jutting ice, as if it is the shape of the ship itself that defines the shape of the ice. But this is not so. In the background are additional thrusts of ice, suggesting these are simply naturally occurring phenomena. The ship and its lost crew are therefore reduced in significance, hinting at mankind's helplessness when confronted with the awesome supremacy of nature.

The Sea of Ice made an impression upon me when I first saw it in our textbook, even though the picture was in black and white. I have always been drawn to the sea, to ships, and the stark but magnificent beauty of ice and snow. When I found the painting online in its original colors, I was not disappointed. I have also discovered other color variations for the same painting. While at a loss to explain this, there's no denying the distinct moods and emotions evoked by each version.





Friedrich painted The Sea of Ice with oil and canvas in 1823-1824. Art collector Johann Gottlob von Quandt had commissioned two paintings meant to represent the north and the south. Friedrich was chosen to paint the northern picture with the theme of "Northern Nature in the whole of her Terrifying Beauty." The painting is currently on display in the Kunsthalle Hamburg art museum in Hamburg, Germany.

The Sea of Ice was not well received when Friedrich completed it in 1824. Indeed, interest in Friedrich's works decreased during his later years, and he died in obscurity. But his paintings were rediscovered in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and they went on to inspire the Expressionist, Surrealist and Existential movements. The arctic landscapes of artists such as Frederic Church, William Bradford, Lawren Harris and Paul Nash were influenced by The Sea of Ice.


The painting also continues to make an impression upon all of us today, who pause to admire its beauty and allow its intensity to awaken our imaginations.