Nature, part II 2. How can artists show the sublime?

Sublime = Terrifyingly beautiful

Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave off Kanagawa,

Gerhard von Kügelgen, Portrait of Caspar David Friedrich, circa

Caspar David Friedrich, Der Wanderer über dem Nebelmeer (The wanderer above the sea of fog), 1818.

Caspar David Friedrich, Abtei im Eichwald (Abbey among Oak Trees), 1809 or 1810

Caspar David Friedrich, Das Eismeer (The Polar Sea), Oil on canvas, 50x38”, Kunsthalle Hamburg.

Portrait of Louise Bourgeois

Bourgeois, untitled mobile

Bourgeois, Nature Study, 1984.

Bourgeois, untitled

Louise Bourgeois, Maman, Bronze with marble eggs, 30 x 33’, National Gallery of Art, Ottawa.

Maman The spider is an ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver. My family was in the business of tapestry restoration, and my mother was in charge of the workshop. Like spiders, my mother was very clever. Spiders are friendly presences that eat mosquitoes. We know that mosquitoes spread diseases and are therefore unwanted. So, spiders are helpful and protective, just like my mother. — Louise Bourgeois

Detail of Maman

Caspar David Friedrich Das Eismeer (The Polar Sea) Louise Bourgeois Maman 1995