Landscape with st Jerome (1516-17) by Joachim Patinir @museoprado
I discovered Patinir when i was 11 years old. He is probably my favorite painter and certainly the reason why i do peopleless photography. What an incredible mind it took in the 15th century to decide to paint landscape !
His blues and greens probably inspired italians in the 15t and 16th centuries.
His surreal rocky landscapes remind me of mountains in japanese prints. Also what Patinir shares with the Japanese is that there is not one central focal point but many points to look at, as in modern photograph like in this Gregory Crewdson example.