View from the Artists Studio, Window on Left 

Caspar David Friedrich created this artwork; a view from his studio, without a known date, using an unknown medium. Friedrich lived through a period of significant social upheaval in Europe as a result of war and political transformation. Here, we see how the division between interior and exterior becomes a framework for examining individual experience versus the vastness of the world. The open window suggests a yearning for connection with the outside, yet there is also a sense of distance. Is it about the sense of isolation that can come with the creative process? Friedrich was deeply affected by the loss of his brother at a young age, and that shaped his somber disposition and the themes in his work. He was quoted as saying that, "the artist should not only paint what he sees before him, but also what he sees in himself." "View from the Artist's Studio, Window on the Left" is a contemplation on the nature of seeing, feeling, and being in a world that is constantly changing.