About Rückenfigur
Literally meaning "back figure", the term rückenfigur is usually associated with German romantic painters, such as Caspar David Friedrich, to describe a viewpoint that includes another person seen from behind, viewing a scene spread out before the viewer.
Over the years this particular technique has found its way quite substantially into the heart of both photography and cinema, but strangely receives little acknowledgment in either. While rückenfigur has its own classical definitions, this group is open to examine the mystery that rückenfigur conveys... so, many interpretations of this visual style are welcome.
There is some further reading over in this discussion.
As rückenfigur is fundamentally about the human contemplation of a landscape (whether it be natural or urban), here's some criteria to get started...
Absolute MUSTS:
- Photo clearly shows a subject from a rear point-of-view in contemplation of another scene that may or may not be visible to us as a viewer.
- Rear figure subject must be the main human subject of the photo... and not just a random body part - picture must at least have a head.
- Main subject must not have a visible face (for a definitive rule: oblique rear profile Ok, but no visible eyes).
- No other faces should appear in the composition unless they are being directly viewed by the "rear figure" (if they're in the indistinct background of the shot, that's Ok)
Desirable Criteria:
- It's all about contemplation... the more evident this feeling is from the composition, the better
- the main subject is shown in isolation within the composition. The main subject can either be in the form of a single person or a group that appears isolated
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Additional Information
 This is a public group.
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Members can post 5 things to the pool each week.
- Accepted media types:
- Accepted content types:
- Photos
- Screenshots
- Illustration/Art
- Accepted safety levels:
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