In the early 20th century, painters continued to embrace the landscape. Photography and the 20th-Century Landscape Landscape views extended well beyond Impressionism, deeply impacting the work ofĬézanne and Van Gogh, as well as painters in the 20th century. The influence of Courbet's distinct use of paint and the way he structured his The landscape, working most often out-of-doors. The Impressionists, comprised of artists includingĬlaude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Auguste Renoir, and Alfred Sisley, would devote most of their careers to studying and painting Next generation of painters to break from the Academy-the Impressionists. Courbet's radical painting techniques and independent spirit paved the way for the Making it both a tactile and visual experience. Revolutionary artists emerged, such as Gustave Courbet, who pushed the boundaries of landscape painting even further by

The 19th century also saw the birth of landscape photography, which would greatly influence the landscape painters' compositionalĬhoices. Throughout Europe and North America landscape painting gained a new supremacy.īarbizon painters such as Théodore RousseauĪnd Charles Daubigny became less concerned with idealized, classical landscapes and focused more on painting out-of-doorsĭirectly from nature-a practice known as plein air painting. Rural life, the old hierarchy of subjects crumbled. As the Industrial Revolution altered the traditions of The 19th century held many milestones for the history of landscape art. While landscapes were often commissioned by patrons, the subject remained low in the hierarchy of the academies, particularly atĪcadémie Royale in France-an incredibly powerful lorganization that set the standards for what was taught France and England became the new centers of landscape art,Īlthough the ideals of 17th-century Dutch and Italian landscapes-including the classical model-retained popularity. Popularity increased and peaked in the later half of the century. Life to believe that landscapes could express the same powerful emotions as the human dramas depicted in history paintings.įrom that point on, he worked to elevate landscape to a higher status.ĭuring the 18th century, Italy continued to be a popular source of inspiration for landscape artists, as the Grand Tour's (Learn more in the presentation on this Web site from the past exhibition Italy on the Grand Tour.) Poussin, who in his early years focused his talent on history painting, came later in Was the preferred location for many artists, who often traveled there with patrons on the Grand Tour. Both artists spent most of their careers in Rome drawing inspiration from the Roman countryside. The classical landscape was perfected by French artists Nicolas Poussin and Claude In aĬlassical landscape the positioning of objects was contrived every tree, rock, or animal was carefully placed to presentĪ harmonious, balanced, and timeless mood. Virgil had described Arcadia as the home of pastoral simplicity. These landscapes were influenced by classical antiquity and sought to illustrateĪn ideal landscape recalling Arcadia, a legendary place in ancient Greece known for its Landscape with a Calm, Nicolas Poussin, 1650–1651Ĭlassical landscape was born. At this time, the rising Protestant middleĬlass sought secular art for their homes, creating the need for new subjects to meet their tastes landscapes helped fill this need. One of the first places that landscape had become a popular subject for painting. The development of the term in the Netherlands at this time was logical because the Netherlands was Land' but acquired the artistic connotation, 'a picture depicting scenery on land' in the early 1500s (American The term 'landscape' actually derives from the Dutch word landschap, which originally meant 'region, tract of The natural world sparked by the Renaissance.

The artistic shift seems to have corresponded to a growing interest in To view the landscape as a subject in its own right. This tradition continued until the 16th century when artists began Seen only as a setting for religious and figural scenes. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the tradition of depicting pure landscapes declined, and the landscape was The Greeks and Romans created wall paintings of landscapes and Artists have been painting the landscape since ancient times.

Landscape paintings