Watchword

• 15th Century

Definitions

• 1: a word or phrase used as a sign of recognition among members of the same society, class, or group
• 2a : a word or motto that embodies a principle or guide to action of an individual or group : slogan <“safety” is our watchword>

b : a guiding principle <change is the watchword for both parties>

Illustration

Caspar David Friedrich contended that what matters is not the world of mundane perception but the world reconstituted by intuition and imagination. His creative watchword is quintessentially Romantic:

“Close your physical eye so that you may first see your picture with the spiritual eye. Then bring to the light of day that which you have seen in the darkness.”

A work of art such as Mondaufgang am Meer testifies to the absolute priority of subjective truth and reminds us that Romantic landscape art is above all else an invocation of spiritual values.