Counting at Riesengebirge
1994
Oil on canvas and altimeter
Morning in the Riesengebirge is an 1810 painting, measuring 108 x 170 cm, by Caspar David Friedrich. This copy was painted in an attempt to be as accurate as possible, using rather labour-intensive veiling techniques. The time and effort expended on the painting was not justified by mystical devotion to a supreme being, or in the manner in which Friedrich may have done so, because on the summit of the central mountain, where he placed a crucifixion, I installed an altimeter. Perhaps his was also an enquiry into the meaning of human existence.The work was exhibited in many places (everyone likes paintings) and finally sold to a museum in Burgos, a religious and mountainous province of Spain.
At approximately the same time, I captured this photograph in the style of Friedrich, atop a mountain in proximity to my then-residence. I ascended the peak, designated as Alto de la Mesa, with my photo camera and observed the village below while the timer was in operation.
