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An artist from late 18th Century Germany, Friedrich was known for his landscape paintings, which invoked profound emotion due to the beauty and profound religious themes of his work.
I took interest in his work around the same time that I was making an effort to be less heady intellectual and more emotional, to look upon the natural world and allow a visceral feeling of connectiveness with it. Samples of CDF's work, portrayed above, reflect the setting in which our story of The Grand Inquisitor takes place. It is a world carved by humans but originally shaped by a divine spirit. 1 - Christ's sacrifice and the hope and divine promise radiating into the world. 2, 3, 4 - Ruins of cloisters are the santuaries after the end of civilization, after the destruction of the world by the selfish devils. After institutions pass away, the divine nature embraces the abandoned cloisters, shaping them into a holier haven. 5 - In an interpreted vision ... a lover (left) with Ivan (me) by a worn out tree, gazing at a setting moon lit by the dusk. the air is cool, a repreive from the hot sun earlier that day. the lover, she is leaving soon. they aren't embracing because he's forbidden. Nonetheless, this is a moment that I cherish, because what we share(d) transcends our bodies, our love was soulful, yet when we part I feel incomplete. 6 - Alyosha (left) with Ivan (right) by a worn out tree, gazing at a setting moon, lit by the twilight after dusk. the air is cold, and I miss the warmth from earlier. the lover (re: above) has left. My brother is listening to me, consoling me. I'm mourning my lover's absense. I tell my brother how unhappy I am with my direction in life. I am unhappy with my career, what I doing, my lack of inspiration. Perhaps I should give up, become ordinary, like the rest of the sheep in the world. But Alyosha won't let me go. He is certain that love will come again; that life is divine; that the sun will rise again. 7 - A photograph I took, which is reminiscient of CDF's style. 8 - A sketch that I attempted in CDF's style. And below, the synthesis of the above style and themes; Dan/Alyosha (left) consoles and argues with Alan/Ivan (right), who stands pensive but listening. They are standing at the peninsula beach at Loch Raven Reservior. High tide, the tree island before them. Along the horizon, all the woods are aflame. The world is burning, Ivan cries. Shall he let the fire consume him with the rest of the people in the world? Alyosha holds him close, offering warm, unburning arms. He gestures to the sky, above the flame. The sun is setting. The light beams through the silver clouds. There is heaven above, untouched by the fire. There is more to life than a burning world. There is hope.  |
