TODAY'S FEATURED POST

Mighty Men & Monster Maker

Dan dos Santos

I take a real enjoyment in going back to the things that inspired me as a kid, and got me into art in the first place. Lately I've been on a kick of re-watching old television shows I enjoyed as a kid (introducing them to my children now), and re-reading the comic books that later inspired me as a teenager. There's no real "reason" for doing this. I'm not trying to bone up on basics,…

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EVERYDAY ORIGINAL

Study for Carnivore Among the Sundew

YESTERDAY’S POST

Image

Rückenfigur

Lauren Panepinto

September 4, 2025 - I didn't know there was a word for this until recently, but of course there is, and of course it's German. Rückenfigur (literally "back-figure") is a compositional device in painting, graphic art, photography, and film. A person is seen from behind in the foreground of the image, contemplating the view before them, and is a means by which the viewer can identify with the image's figure and then recreate the space to be conveyed. (from Wikipedia) The textbook example of this is this image is Caspar David Friedrich's Wanderer Above the Sea of Fog: And in fact, I only heard the term Rückenfigur at all because there was just a Caspar David Friedrich exhibit at The Met. He loved this device and it shows up in his work a number of times:   Obviously Friedrich…

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