The artist should paint not only what he sees before him, but also what he sees within him. If, however, he sees nothing within him, then he should also refrain from painting that which he sees before him. Otherwise, his pictures will be like those folding screens behind which one expects to find only the sick or the dead.
Caspar David FriedrichThe eye and fantasy feel more attracted by nebulous distance than by that which is close and distinct in front of us.
Caspar David FriedrichAll authentic art is conceived at a sacred moment and nourished in a blessed hour; an inner impulse creates it, often without the artist being aware of it.
Caspar David FriedrichYou call me a misanthrope because I avoid society. You err; I love society. Yet in order not to hate people, I must avoid their company.
Caspar David Friedrich