The idea that the eyes are a window to the soul has appeared across cultures and artistic traditions for centuries. As artistic and spiritual traditions evolved from the Medieval through the neoclassical periods, the eyes remained a vital bridge between a painting’s inner and outer worlds. How mysterious, then, that the artist of German Romanticism most synonymous with evoking a state of deep, soulful reflection did so by turning his subjects’ eyes away from the viewer to face landscapes beyond them.
Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) aspired to much more than wealth or fame with his paintings. He pioneered the concept of art as an immersive experience.
