The 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 FriedrichThe 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 pure, frank sentiments we hold in our hearts are the only truthful sources of art.
Caspar David FriedrichI must stay alone and know that I am alone to contemplate and feel nature in full; I have to surrender myself to what encircles me, I have to merge with my clouds and rocks in order to be what I am.
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 Friedrich