The 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. It is commonly associated with German Romantic painting and particularly the landscape and figurative painter Caspar David Friedrich.Koerner, Joseph Leo, Caspar David Friedrich and the Subject of Landscape, 2nd edition, Reaktion Books, 2009, In art historical research, it is debated whether the Rückenfigur actually invites identification or rather encourages second-order observation.
The Rückenfigur motif dates to antiquity and has since been employed in many different eras and styles of art. Before Friedrich, such figures were not generally the subject of the work. Giotto's Lamentation of Christ (1300s) is an early example of non-subject figures turned from the viewer.Kunibert Bering, Rolf Niehoff (2015),Visual Proficiency: A Perspective on Art Education. Athena-Verlag. The Rückenfigur may also take the form of staffage.
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