The Abbey in the Oakwood

         

           This painting too was painted by Caspar David Friedrich in 1809-1810 and is again of romanticism ideals. Romanticism was a reaction type of style that reacts to the industrial revolution, and how nature has taken all the damage by man’s greed. One can tell this is a romanticist painting because of the emphasis on emotion, seeing how the colors give you chills and the sense of awe that Friedrich put around the woods to evoke a powerful emotion. Also, because it gives a sense to the horror of the scene, showing that that is just how nature is, is a giveaway to its romanticist roots(Romanticism). One can also notice how the use of mellow colors gradually shifts from light to dark, giving it an eerie appeal. In this painting, we see a sort of group of monks, some holding a coffin, walking towards a grave by the light of two candle lights, near a church and some crosses in the distance. This also brings a sense of death as we see the monks bring the coffin to the graves. Death and the unknown might as well go hand in hand, for they are often confused as interchangeable. Humans simply do not know what is after death, if anything and will go to extreme lengths to avoid death for they believe they will cease to exist and be forgotten.




          This painting also describes the unknown of the woods, but also ties in the dark and the sense of fear and horror that has been known to accompany the dark. In this, we cannot discern what is in the distance, if anything. We just see the monks, the church and the grave. This gives us a sense of fear because we simply do not know what else there is in the woods. There is no light to guide the way, and no trail or anything. It is preserved the way it was made, and has not been explored and mapped. This raw feeling of the dark and mysterious relates very well to the unknown.