Art as Inner Journey: Gauguin, Friedrich, and the Power of Mental Travel

In a reflective essay published on Artribune, Luca Cantore D'Amore explores the enduring connection between art and travel, arguing that in times of pandemic-induced confinement, art offers a means of mental voyage. The essay references Paul Gauguin's "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" (1898), painted in Tahiti, as a transformation of physical travel into lyrical, existential inquiry. Caspar David Friedrich's "Wanderer above the Sea of Fog" (1818) is presented as a proto-flâneur of the soul, embodying introspective journeying. The piece also invokes Gabriele d'Annunzio's poem "I pastori" (1902) and Charles Baudelaire's concept of the flâneur, contrasting urban observation with Friedrich's sublime wandering. Cantore D'Amore suggests that art allows viewers to travel without moving, breaking down physical walls through the power of thought, and promises future installments exploring artists' gazes as catalysts for reflection during the COVID-19 pandemic.