The painter should paint not only what he has in front of him, but also what he sees inside himself. If he sees nothing within, then he should stop painting what is in front of him.
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 FriedrichWhat the newer landscape artists see in a circle of a hundred degrees in Nature they press together unmercifully into an angle of vision of only forty-five degrees. And furthermore, what is in Nature separated by large spaces, is compressed into a cramped space and overfills and oversatiates the eye, creating an unfavorable and disquieting effect on the viewer.
Caspar David FriedrichA painting which does not take its inspiration from the heart is nothing more than futile juggling.
Caspar David Friedrich