Nature is one aspect of life that always reminds us of the immense beauty that lies in the depth of vast oceans, the limitless perspectives that are present in the boundless sky and the ever-appealing essence of trees, mountains, and rivers.
No one in this world has ever criticised the dazzling charm of the natural beauty that resides everywhere we go. May be this is why artists identified the humungous opportunity that lies in nature and decided to brush it up.
Landscape paintings are the mannerism in which artisans use colour, imagination and aesthetic designs to showcase the hidden message that lies in the alluring appearance of scenic beauty.
If you have ever tried to buy art that signifies the grace of nature, you must have dreamt of getting hands on the impeccable countryside of Monet (French), Pissarro, and Cezanne.
But, the practice of sketching or painting landscape goes back to the ages when artists used to adorn the tinted walls of GreekEmpire in ancient times.
The wallswere beautified with scintillating patterns of gardens and mesmerising imitation of hills. With time, these artworks become the pillar for the religious epics of Greece.
The landscape art was eventually reborn in the 16th century when the Italian Renaissance came into action.
Through this blog, we are going to see how Landscape paintings were revived and how these were accepted by the major cultures of the world. Let’s begin:
Landscape and Leonardo
It was the prominence of Leonardo Da Vinci that made him one of the prominent artists of all time.
When Italian renaissance (16th century) was at its maximum impact, it was the likes of Leonardothat pushed Landscape form of art in the market.
While the subject painting was famed in those times, Leonardo used to cleverly incorporate landscape such as mountains, rivers, trees or plain lands in the background.
Renaissance is known to give life to conventionalideas and hence more & more artists started converging their focus on naturalistic details such as landscape and scenic beauty.
Dutch influence on Landscape Paintings
The Landscape is a term that is sourced from the Dutch word ‘Landschap’, which means natural scenery.
Not much people know but it was the Netherlands that has witnessed the uprising of Landscape art form. It was artists of theNetherlands that took leverage on the increasing number of Protestantsthat wanted a transformation from the conventional religious themes.
Thus came art heroes such as Aelbert Cuyp. Cuyp was one of the most creative artists who used to get inspiration from the surroundings (natural scenic beauty) and pour it into colours to crave some magnificent piece of imagination on canvas.
By the time 17th century came, stupendous Landscape paintingswere improvised to near perfectionreflecting the harmony and calmness that lies in nature.
The simplicity of these paintings was complemented by the breath-takingappearance. During this time period, the popularity of Landscape art form was attaining fame, but it was still not the best-rated type identified by theroyal institutionsof art.
It was not until the dawn of 18th century that Landscape was incorporated as the mainstream form of art education course by the royal art academy. Now, an art graduate has to emphasise the significance of nature and how to document it.
This marks the beginning of American’s era of Landscape art form.
American art and Landscape paintings
American artuntil the advent of Landscape form was more focused on the historical events and happenings.
But, when Hudson River School initiated the practice of Landscape on the canvases that were humungous (almost similar to large walls), a sense of greatness was seen.
America during the 18th century was still evolving as a civilisation, hence, artists started reflecting the illustration of lands as a kind of history paintings only.
This marks the beginning of the era where Landscape form of artaccomplished a special place as they depict America as a land of immense beauty.
Famous Landscape painters of American art wereThomas Cole and Edwin Church.
Vincent Van Gogh and Claude Monet
The renowned name such as Van Gogh and Monet were amongst the artists who brushed down some of the best Landscapeartworksduring the late 19th century.
New tactics such as en plein air and outdoor paintings came into practice.
Since it was the time when already blended paint boxes were available, the approach to the Landscape art changes.
Now, the artists can go to any outdoor location and set himself/herself up to craft a splendid piece of art. This impacts the conventional social perception of weekends.
Now, making landscape paintings on weekend seems like a holiday plan. This embarks a new enhanced version of landscape art. Some of the known artists of this time were Holland Berkley and Igor Medvedev.
Marina Thomas is a marketing and communication expert. She also serves as content developer with many years of experience. She helps clients in long term wealth plans. She has previously covered an extensive range of topics in her posts, including business debt consolidation and start-ups.
