‘The two criteria he uses to judge any work of art’
Dude Man and I recently took in the Caspar David Friedrich show at the Met. Poor ole Caspar is not well-known over here in America, although he is very popular in Europe. In fact, he was Hitler’s favorite artist. Which could be part of why he’s not so famous here. (It wasn’t Caspar’s fault; he not only didn’t hang out with Hitler, he lived a whole century before him.)
Probably Caspar’s most famous painting, Wanderer above the Sea of Fog. You can buy a poster of it. I wonder if Hitler had one over his bed
Anyway, Caspar David Friedrich’s paintings are mostly landscapes, so I was pretty sure Dude Man would like this show.
The Dude really likes landscapes. In fact, his favorite art is the Hudson River School. You know: Thomas Cole, Frederic Church. Asher Durand. Is it because these paintings evoke majesty? Or because they stir up philosophical thoughts of man’s insignificance in the face of nature?
Thomas Cole: The Oxbow. Majestic. Philosophical. And checks both of The Dude’s “Is it Art?” boxes
Nah. It’s because landscape paintings — or most of them, anyway — look like what they’re supposed to be. A mountain looks like a mountain. A river looks like a river. The moon looks like…well, you get the idea. They also look like they’d be pretty hard to paint. Look at the brushstrokes in that sunset! Check out the jillions of leaves on that tree! Gosh…this painting is so big; I bet it took him forever to paint it!
Landscape paintings, therefore, check both boxes on The Dude’s “Is it great art?” list. First: “Does it look like what it’s supposed to be?” and Second: “Was it hard to do?”
The Whole Dude Family in front of their (real!) de Kooning. Which Dude did not like. Because? Doesn’t look like what it’s supposed to be (though exactly what “les Orages” are, I’m not sure) And doesn’t look like it was hard to do. Read the hilarious story about how Dude’s Fam got this painting in “De Kooning’s Revenge”
One time, at the Museum of Modern Art (where most of the works definitely do not meet the Dude Art Criteria), we came upon a piece that looked like a giant chair — made of thousands of nails — pointing out. It was not only hideous, it looked truly uncomfortable. But Dude Man liked it. And not only because it looked like what it was supposed to be (a chair) but also because it looked remarkably hard to make. “How on earth did he do that?”
Nice try, Artist. But this chair doesn’t like like it was all that hard to make, does it?
I’m happy to say that most of the paintings in this show met Dude Man’s Art Criteria. I liked them too. (In fact, I went another time, Dudeless, so I could take my time with the paintings I liked best.)
One of the more spectacular Friedrichs in the show: The Monk by the Sea. Dude: “Where are the boats?”
Another one I loved and thought Dude would too, since 1. It looks like a real tree and 2. Was no doubt very hard to paint. Dude: “It’s just a tree.” Oh. Okay
After taking in the Friedrichs, we wandered around, checking out other stuff. Of course, some works Dude liked better than others.
You guessed it. He LOVED this column
All in all, a good Art Day. Oh — there’s another criterion I almost forgot to mention: Can the Art be enjoyed with Mr. Baby along?
Perfect work of art here at San Francisco’s Palace of the Legion of Honor: looks like what it’s supposed to be — and incredibly hard to make
New York City. April 2025