Often when words alone become insufficient to express emotions humans resort to producing images with the help of art.  Art has been a great tool of expression throughout the ages, as it gives the artist the opportunity of depicting emotions in a manner that suits them best.  In "Wanderer Above The Sea of Fog", Caspar David Frederich shows the roles nature and spirituality play upon an individual's search for enlightenment and a more explicit meaning of his or her life's surroundings, beyond that which meets the eye.  The components serving to express this theme in his painting are color, light, line (form) and placement along with space.

When examining Frederich's work one may find that he uses a cold chromatic palette.  There is a mix of light blues layered athwart the painting to create a sky which has an intangible aspect.  Light blue colors are frequently seen as colors that bring to mind serenity and peace.  In the present day, this color appears in the emblem of the United Nations whose main purpose is the maintenance of peace.  In the case of the painting, there is a sense of tranquility, which is overall neccesary for self-reflection.  Perhaps, this is the way through which the wanderer is leaving behind anything that does not associate with what is surrounding him at the moment.  One may also see that Frederich paints the figure in a suit, possibly to represent a businessman.  A suit is rather unusual, for a mountaineer to wear when going on a hike. The purpose of is to indicate that the individual has withdrawn from his routinary life to enjoy this magnificent landscape.  The dark green color captured in the suit is sometimes linked to a representation of money which could have kept this wanderer from being able to appreciate the greater view of the vicinity.  On the other hand, this green is also generally viewed as a color that creates a harmony between the heart and head, a harmony being sought by the wanderer.  The viewer may also notice the portrayal of light illuminating the fog that appears to emanate from underneath the rock, highlighting its darker tones.  This can represent the aspect of something that is related to divinity, comparatively to God in Christianity who is said to be found all around nature and the sense of serenity that comes with his presence.  Also, Frederich seems to allude to the symbolic meaning of the rock found in The Bible, which is Jesus.  He is thought to be the same person as God and as stated in the teachings of Christianity, he is meant to be the foundation of every man's life.  For that the reason Frederich chooses to highlight and boldly illustrate the rock rather than completely cover it with fog.  Additionally, focusing only on transmundane matters such as the divine, according to some cultures is the best way to reach enlightenment or understanding of life and Frederich hints at this skillfully.

In addition to giving meaning to his painting by using colors to represent ideas, Frederich embeds it in the use of lines and the forms depicted in the landscape as well as in the wanderer himself.  The rocks remain in silhouette form, some blurred by the fog, yet certain detail is visibly similar to humankind's faith in the sense that for many individuals it is the base of who they are in regard to their morals and beliefs.  Nevertheless, faith can become unclear at times due to doubt because the majority of matters based on it are intangible and in most cases not visible.  On the other hand, Frederich gives the viewer indications of what a human being represents within nature through the wanderer's posture.  The wanderer displays a posture of a confident man with a leading leg prostrated firmly on the rock marking his place above his surroundings, looking beyond in admiration.  He is perhaps pondering on life beyond the point of the horizon -- the life that is eternal.  However, the figure of this man rests on a cane, this is possibly Frederich's way of depicting humankind's feebleness in front of nature in the scenery and its relation to God.  Further, his back turned from viewer creates mystery and separates him from the landscape itself so the audience may also focus more on the panorama, in the same manner, the wanderer does.  Furthermore, in his anonymity, the wanderer could be any man.  It allows him to represent anyone and in that manner gives the image a wider possibility for interpretation.  Lastly, Frederich's use of lines in the mountain in the middle of the canvas appears to move and join towards the center of the painting where the wanderer's heart is located in order to make a connection between nature and the individual.

As the viewer continues to look at the painting it is inevitable to notice  Friedrich's use of space in his piece.  He situates the wanderer in the center of the portrait above the fog but keeps him below the farthest mountain and a sky spreading around him in order to illustrate the insignificance of mankind in nature.  Hence, the depiction of nature in the painting appears to go on forever coming to also represent its continuous flourishment opposed to human time on earth, which ends at the moment of death.  And he can only see so far.  Man never knows what the future holds.  He only has a concept. A man may die but a mountain is likely to remain far more years. Still, it is the realization of a person's own minuscule place in nature that he or she may see him/herself as being part of a greater purpose.  Frederich shows once again that it is through the appreciation of the things surrounding a being and that are beyond the routinary, such as nature or belief in eternal life, that he or she can find the meaning in their own existence.  Another factor that takes importance within the painting is its position. Artists landscapes are generally oriented horizontally because both the top and bottom of the horizon are equal.  Alternatively, a vertical orientation is most commonly used for portraits and what is in the upper part of the horizon has a heavier weight on the bottom.  Frederich could be portraying the connection between the sky, life after death and God, who is known to be in the heavens with his sublime power of over humanity as a whole.  

Given these points, the viewer may see that Frederich shows that nature and spirituality are stepping stones to a fulfilling life with purpose.  He also points out the fact that there is more to what the eye beholds as it is necessary to take a moment to look beyond the horizon from time to time and analyze things far past it.  The wanderer appears to be in front of this meaning, which Frederich invites his audience to search for, but it may be that the only thing keeping him from doing so is his own will to open his eyes to see things clearly.

