Caspar David Friedrich ⁽²⁾

Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840) was the master of making lonely, foggy landscapes look deep. If there was a “thinking man’s” painter club in the 1800s, Friedrich would definitely have a membership card—and he’d probably be standing on a cliff, staring into the mist, contemplating the meaning of life while everyone else went to the pub.

Friedrich was all about mood, mystery, and nature's wild beauty. He painted lots of empty, majestic scenes with towering mountains, endless seas, and dramatic skies that were more introspective than your average nature walk. His landscapes weren’t about sunshine and rainbows; they were more about, "Hey, look at this fog—what does it really mean about our existence?" (Spoiler: it probably means "Get a jacket, it's cold.")