The Monk by the Sea

The sound of a brewing storm over a vast ocean, as interpreted by an awestruck monk. Painting: The Monk by the Sea (1808–1810) by German Romantic painter Caspar David Friedrich (1774–1840). The painting was criticized for its lack of a repoussoir — an object that leads the viewer’s gaze into the painting. The effect, however, is that the clouds and endless ocean seem sublimely vast, making us humans appear comparably small.