Alexander van Bredael

This guy painted what happened when city folks lost their cool outside the city walls. The title of his 1690 canvas—“Robbers Attacking by Surprise”—says it all; horse, torch, and a scuffle in the dark. He stuck to the same patch of Flemish countryside so often you can still pin the scene to a real crossroads outside Antwerp. Track down the picture and you’ll spot the exact inn where travelers gulped one last beer before the road got rude.