Caspar David Friedrich (1774-1840) was one of most important German Romantic artists. He specialized in landscapes that represented common Romantic themes: primarily the tremendous power of nature.
His most enduring piece, The Wreck of the Hope is starkly realistic. Friedrich seems entranced by the immbolity of the stricken ship. The painting, done in oil on canvas, visualizes a ship, so dwarfed by the ice in Bering Strait, that it seems like a toy. The piece is the epitome of loneliness as the ship is the only suggestion of humanity within the entire work. The technique used to create the work is described by Janson as impersonal and meticulous, quite fitting in my opinion.
Friedrich was inspired by the work of Mengs, Hamilton, and Vien, but his style, though oft copied, was rarely duplicated with much success. As a result, the tradition of landscape in Germany during the Romantic period is often forgotten.