Tuesday, 2 October 2012

Day & Night

No, don't worry - this is not going to be yet another fashion post like the "Day & Night" one that I did back in February and which, strangely enough, still features as one of my most popular posts.

 This time, it's all about the sky.

 A few days ago, upon coming into the kitchen first thing in the morning, I saw this beautiful sunrise, and before I even started the kettle to make myself coffee, I went to grab the camera and take a picture:

Around the same time (not in terms of hour, obviously, but day) we had a dramatic full (?) moon again. I know I've shown moony pictures here on my blog before, but if you are anything like me, you're never bored of looking at the sky.

 And, just to make this post complete, here is what the view from my kitchen window was like last Friday, at the end of September:

 Soon, a lot of that green will be gone, but no matter the season or weather, I always like looking out across these gardens.

 For as long as I can remember, I have always loved sunsets and sunrises, and views of the sky. When I was a kid, my bedroom window was facing West, and I often watched the sunset from there.
Have you ever heard of Caspar David Friedrich? He was a German painter (1774-1840) who is often cast aside as being overly romantic, but few have, in my opinion, managed to capture the colours and atmosphere of the sky in all its different appearances as well as he did. The above painting is from 1822, and I shamelessly nicked it from somewhere else on the internet.
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18 comments:

  1. Jane and Lance Hattatt2 October 2012 at 10:12

    Hello Meike:
    Yes, we too love skygazing and it is never as satisfying as it is in Brighton where we look out over the sea and have witnessed some marvellous early morning and late evening sights. It is especially magical at dusk when starlings fly against porphry coloured skies to roost in the structures of the pier.

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    1. Librarian2 October 2012 at 19:01

      Hello Jane and Lance,
      your description sounds heart-burstingly beautiful! Of course the combination of sky and sea is unbeatable.

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  2. Graham Edwards2 October 2012 at 13:44

    We share a love of the moon and skies as you know from my blog. We also apparently share a love of Casper David Friedrich. I first saw his work in the Museum of Modern Art in Berlin in the early '80s and fell in love. For many years I had a large reproduction of his Oak in Winter or Oak Tree in the Snow (I can't recall the actual title) which I bought at the Museum and hung on my office wall. About 8 years ago I was in the National Gallery in London and when I walked through a room I immediately spotted a small painting which I just knew immediately was one of his. It was and I have a print on the wall in my hall. It is one of his Winter Landscapes from around 1911.

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    1. Librarian2 October 2012 at 19:00

      Graham, what a pleasant surprise to find out you love Friedrich's paintings! I've just looked at an excerpt of his works on wikipedia; do you mean this one?
      http://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Datei:Oak_Tree_in_the_Snow.jpg&filetimestamp=20100111181508
      The year 1911 for the winter landsacpe can't be true, because Friedrich died in 1840. Or did you mean the print was from that time?

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    2. Graham Edwards3 October 2012 at 00:12

      Yes, Meike, that's the one. It really affected me when I saw it originally and it never lost its fascination all the time I had it. I'm afraid the 1911 is yet another oops moment. It should, of course, have been 1811. Having looked it up the painting is this one: Winter Landscape (1)

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    3. Librarian3 October 2012 at 08:39

      Wikipedia says that Friedrich used snow as a symbol of the stillness of death. No matter what he saw it as, the painting is very beautiful and full of atmosphere. One can almost hear the cold.

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  3. DawnTreader2 October 2012 at 14:30

    I was going to comment that I think I recall GB being a big fan of Caspar David Friedrich - but I see he's already confirmed that! (I'm not sure I knew about him before GB first mentioned him.) Like you, I can see sunrise skies from my kitchen - that is, if it happens to be a sunny morning. (Not many of those just lately!) And sunset from my balcony.

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    1. Librarian2 October 2012 at 19:03

      That's really nice, Monica; you can enjoy both sunrise and sunset from the comfort of your own place. While I have windows facing South, North and East, I don't have a West view from my flat, but I do manage from time to time to catch a beautiful sunset when I go out for a run; then, my path always leads West to begin with.

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    2. Graham Edwards3 October 2012 at 00:14

      When you said that, Monica, I thought I must have posted about it but I can't find any such post. I'm puzzled.

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    3. DawnTreader3 October 2012 at 14:45

      And now you have me puzzled too, GB. If not on your own blog(s), it must have been in a comment somewhere else, which then probably sent me in search of more info... I have a vague hunch that it may have come up in connection with some snowy winter tree photo of mine!

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  4. Scriptor Senex2 October 2012 at 19:58

    I too am a Caspar David Friedrich fan but hadn't seen the picture above before. Thanks.

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  5. Kay G.3 October 2012 at 04:02

    Dear Meike,
    You know how much Richard and I love photos of the sky! No wonder you ran for your camera. That sunrise is wonderful!
    I also like the painting that you have shown here. And yes, I agree, the artist had studied the sky to get those colors just right.
    The moon shot is great too! Our full moon was totally obscured by heavy cloud that night. But that was okay, since we saw the Monarch butterfly just before dark!

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    1. Librarian3 October 2012 at 08:41

      Dear Kay, thank you! I'm glad you like the pictures.

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  6. Unknown3 October 2012 at 05:29

    What a sunrise & a lovely way to start the day. I am right there with you, I am a sky gazer too. So much possibility...

    I am unfamiliar with the Artist - but I have to agree with you he does capture the colors just right. Not an easy thing to do!

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  7. Thickethouse.wordpress3 October 2012 at 06:42

    We always loved watching sunsets from our dock on the east side of Lake Chautauqua. So beautiful. I've seen some of CDF's work, but hadn't remembered it much. So I looked around online and found it beautiful and dramatic. I just picked up some books from the library today and The Beach House which you wrote about recently was among them.

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    1. Librarian3 October 2012 at 08:42

      It will be interesting to know what you think of the book, Kristi!
      I can imagine what beautiful views you must have had from your dock across the lake.

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