"The higher we soar the smaller we appear to those who cannot fly."--Nietzsche, Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

I first stumbled across this painting as the cover of the book Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Even though I utterly failed to recognize its aesthetic significance in the first place, I found it nicely resonated with Nietzsche's philosophy in the book. Since the reading plan of the book was aborted after the first twenty pages, sadly I cannot speak boastfully about Nietzsche's philosophy here but to point out the obvious elements brought up by the painting--the sense of ambition, volition and satisfaction of conquest.

Our hero is dressed in frock coat with a stick in hand, suggesting he has climbed all the way to this rocky peak above swirling mountain clouds. With a Romantic approach of depicting mountains and clouds, Friedrich uses the landscape as a way of self-expression. Ridges of the mountains and edges of the clouds form lines that lead to the figure. And the silhouette of the rock creates a stage that uplifts its hero to the center of the canvas. The most special artistic touch of this painting rests on the fact that this man is turning his back on us. On my conjecture, it creates a sense of solemnity and contemplation. During discussion in class, Aaron suggests, for him, the man in the painting is looking up to the summit in front of him thus expressing his new pursuit. And in order to do so, he has to go through the obstacles hid under the swirling clouds. I find his argument convincing.

The iconic composition of this painting has been influential in stage designs and movie posters. Those designs often convey a classic theme of man standing alone with ambition, heroism, and sometimes a little sorrow for it's so heavy a burden for one man. Nevertheless we know they can all be traced back to Caspar David Friedrich and his Wanderer Above the Mist.