Rock Canyon in the Harz

In the summer of 1811 Friedrich made a walking tour through the Harz mountains in central Germany, filling a sketchbook with rock faces and gorges. This picture grew out of that trip. Two small figures pause at the mouth of a deep stony cleft, almost lost against the grass, while the rock rises far past the top of the canvas. Friedrich had grown up on the flat Baltic coast, and the Harz was old mining country as much as wild scenery, though he keeps the mines out of view. He wanted the sheer size of the place to press on you. The larger of the two figures leans on a staff, the way a traveller stops to take the measure of what lies ahead.