Natural landscape in painting. “What is landscape. Development of landscape in European painting

SCENERY is a word that means, except general view terrain and descriptions of nature in literature, one of the genres of fine art. The theme of the landscape is terrain (from the French landscape - “terrain”, “country”), environment, natural or man-transformed nature (the earth with its landscapes, views of mountains, rivers, fields, forests), city and countryside. Accordingly, natural, rural and urban (architectural, industrial, etc.) landscapes are distinguished. In the natural one, a seascape is distinguished (“ marina”, and artists depicting the sea are called “marine painters”) and cosmic, astral - an image of celestial space, stars and planets. Special place occupies in the urban landscape veduta – documented accurate image. From the point of view of time, they distinguish between modern, historical (incl. ruin– ruins of archaeological or historical sites and monuments) and futurological (pictures of the future world) landscapes.

In a narrow and strict sense, one should distinguish between landscape and landscape image. A landscape is a “portrait” image of a natural view, of what is, what really exists. It is like a pictorial or graphic “photo image”. It is individual and unique, it can be corrected, deformed, but it cannot be invented or composed. In contrast, a landscape image is any landscape views created using the imagination. The term "landscape" usually means both.

Landscape is not just an image, but always artistic image natural and urban environment, its specific interpretation, which is expressed in historically changing styles landscape art.

Each style - be it a classic, baroque, romantic, realistic, modernist landscape - has its own philosophy, aesthetics And poetics landscape image.

At the center of the philosophy of landscape is the question of the relationship of man to the environment - nature and the city, and the relationship of the environment to man. These relationships can be interpreted as harmonious or disharmonious. For example, Levitan in the landscape evening call, evening Bell creates an image in which the bright joy of nature and the blissful peace of mind life and feelings of people. On the contrary, in the philosophical and symbolic landscape ( Above eternal peace ) the artist, wanting to answer the question about the relationship between man and nature, about the meaning of life, contrasts the eternal and powerful forces of nature with the weak and short-lived human life.

The philosophical worldview interpretation of the image determines its aesthetics. IN Evening bells it's blissful, idyllic beauty, Above eternal peace solved in the style of monumental tragedy, sublime at its core.

The philosophy and aesthetics of landscape underlie its poetics and pictorial means. One can draw a certain analogy between the poetics of landscape and the poetics of literature. In both cases it is appropriate to distinguish between lyric, epic and drama. If in Evening bells we see lyrical a thing where aesthetic feelings are expressed as states of nature, then in the picture Above eternal peace for all its lyricism (as in any landscape), we feel the mournful epic narration character, imbued with tension and dramatic.

I. Levitan is a landscape painter of a realistic style, but the proposed method of interpreting his landscape work is applicable to other styles. For example, the classicist landscape as a whole professes a harmonious image, sublime and epic-narrative; romanticism seeks to reveal the internal contradictions of the relationship between man and the environment; it is characterized by a special romantic beauty and lyricism.

Landscape art reveals itself in almost all types and types of spatial arts. Among the types, preference is given to painting and graphics (book illustrations, etc.), but landscape images are also found in architecture, decorative arts (paintings on glass, porcelain, etc.) and scenography (decorative landscapes). Among the types of spatial arts, the palm belongs to easel works of painting and graphics, but monumental art (paintings and mosaics) and applied arts(folk arts and crafts, furniture, souvenirs, etc.) also use landscape forms.

For modernist movements modernity is characterized by the desire for deformation landscape image, which is often a bridge to the transition to abstractions, where the landscape loses its genre specificity.

Evgeniy Basin

The landscape genre is relatively young in relation to the portrait, battle or religious painting. Rapid development landscape in all its diversity has made it one of the most popular and beloved genres visual arts. There are many subtypes of this genre.

Let's consider the most known species landscape.

NATURAL - a landscape depicting the natural landscape of forests, fields, rivers, natural phenomena at different times of the year. Painting a landscape always requires the artist to have a personal emotional relationship to the state of nature that the author intends to display on canvas. Natural landscapes in turn, they have subspecies based on the landscapes depicted - mountain, forest, wall, seascapes. The latter is a special direction that we have taken out separately.

SEA – marinas, sea paintings appeared as an independent direction in the landscape in the Netherlands in the 17th century. In calm and storm, in any weather, the sea is beautiful. Waves and sea surf, the sea element in the paintings of artists often personifies human manifestations of love, passion, and peace.

RURAL – paintings of villages and villages, landscapes peasant life. In rural landscapes, artists glorify unity with nature, the harmonious coexistence of man and the surrounding world, simple and understandable rural life, and love for his native land.

URBAN – city landscape, another name is urban landscape. Types of streets and neighborhoods populated by residents and transport. IN Italian art Renaissance there was a veduta - an urban view with detailed images of buildings, cozy streets, pavements and sidewalks.

ARCHITECTURAL - a landscape demonstrating the beauty of buildings and structures and their fragments. Stone bridges, towers and fortresses, temples and lighthouses become the object of the artist’s attention. Landscape artists of this style love to depict historical buildings and ruins of ancient cities.

PARK (estate) - a landscape of nature inhabited by humans, equipped for a pleasant pastime. Neat paths and comfortable benches, romantic lanterns, graceful statues and fragments of architecture are characteristic of the park landscape.

INDUSTRIAL, industrial landscape - appeared with the development of large-scale production and urban construction. Such landscapes can be found in the works of the Impressionists and, most of all, during the period of socialist realism, when artists embodied achievements in industry in works of art.

LYRICAL landscape or mood landscape. Such landscapes expressively convey to the viewer the artist’s moods and impressions of nature at the time of painting. It can be serene peace and quiet foggy morning, or the despondency and hopelessness of a cold, stormy autumn.

Course work

By discipline

"IZO Methodology"

Methodology for working on paintings

image of a landscape.

Third year students, group 35g.

Specialty 070901

Specialization - Easel painting

Vydrina Elena Andreevna

Grade: _______ / ________________

Supervisor _____/_______________
(signature) (full name)
« ______»__________ 20___ G.

Bendery, 2015

Introduction.

1. Landscape as a genre of fine art.

2. Methodology for working on a landscape.

2.1 Work on the landscape in various materials(gouache, watercolor).

Conclusion.

Bibliography.

Application.

Plan - lesson summary.

Introduction.

Nature is infinitely diverse and beautiful. sunlight and the environment create an inexhaustible harmony of colors. Everything in nature is natural, purposeful, beautiful. The impact of nature on a person, the deep experiences and thoughts that it evokes, contributed to the emergence of a genre in the fine arts - landscape.
I believe that a picturesque landscape is one of the necessary stages of learning. Painting practice helps to feel the color features of a certain state of nature, its plastic characteristics and convey this in the coloristic unity of a landscape sketch. Drawing from life teaches students to work consciously in class, instills organization and attention in students, and develops spatial thinking and imagination, allows them to better understand the beauty and patterns of structure surrounding nature. Students also depict landscapes in most cases when performing thematic drawings.
In order to achieve positive work results, it is necessary to guide the student’s visual activities in such a way that he sees his successes at every stage. This can be achieved by dividing a complex visual task into a number of simple small tasks that are quite accessible to the child.

Thus, the depiction of nature in fine arts lessons at school contributes to the development of the student’s personal qualities, aesthetic and moral development, love for the world around us.
Target course work: study the features of teaching the topic “Landscape”.

Object of study: educational process in art classes.

Subject of research: methods and techniques for teaching schoolchildren to depict landscapes.
The teaching method refers to the way the teacher works with students, with the help of which a better assimilation of educational material is achieved and academic performance increases. The choice of teaching methods depends on the learning goals as well as the age of the students. IN pedagogical literature The term “reception” is also found. A teaching method is the individual points that make up a teaching method. From a set of techniques and teaching methods, combined general direction, a training system is being developed.
The ultimate goal of my work will be to develop a lesson plan on the topic “ Autumn landscape native land."

Landscape as a genre of fine art.

Landscape is a genre of fine art, the subject of which is the depiction of nature, type of terrain, landscape. Scenery - traditional genre easel painting and graphics. Depending on the nature of the landscape motif, one can distinguish rural, urban (including urban architectural - veduta), and industrial landscape. A special area constitutes the image sea elements- Marina.
The landscape can be historical, geographical, fantastic, lyrical, epic in nature. For example, I. Levitan’s landscapes are often called “mood landscapes.” His paintings embody changing moods, states of anxiety, grief, foreboding, peace, joy, etc. Therefore, the artist conveys the three-dimensional shape of objects in a generalized way, without careful elaboration of details, using vibrant painterly spots. This is how he painted the paintings “March” and “March” in 1895. Golden autumn", marking highest point in the development of the Russian world landscape.
Thanks to I. Shishkin, who managed to create a generalized epic image of Russian nature on his canvases, the Russian landscape rose to the level of deeply meaningful and democratic art (“Rye”, “ Ship Grove"). The endless expanses of fields, the sea of ears swaying under the fresh wind, the forest distances in the paintings of I. Shishkin give rise to thoughts about the greatness and power of Russian nature.
Often the landscape serves as a background in paintings, graphics, sculptures (reliefs, medals) works of other genres. The artist not only strives to accurately reproduce the chosen landscape motif, but also conveys his attitude towards nature, spiritualizes it, creates an artistic image that has emotional expressiveness and ideological content.
Man began to depict nature in ancient times. Landscape elements can be found back in the Neolithic era in reliefs and paintings of countries Ancient East And Ancient Greece, mainly in scenes of wars, hunting and fishing, contains individual elements of the landscape, especially multiplied and concretized in the ancient Egyptian art of the New Kingdom era. Landscape motifs became widespread in the art of Crete in the 16th-15th centuries. BC. (see Aegean art), where for the first time the impression of an emotionally convincing unity of fauna, flora and natural elements was achieved. Landscape elements of ancient Greek art are usually inseparable from the image of man; The Hellenistic and ancient Roman landscapes, which included elements of perspective (illusionistic paintings, mosaics, so-called pictorial reliefs), had somewhat greater independence. This era is characterized by the image of nature, perceived as the sphere of idyllic existence of man and the gods. In medieval European art, landscape elements (especially views of cities and individual buildings) often served as a means of conventional spaces and structures (for example, “hills” or “chambers” in Russian icons), in most cases turning into laconic indications of the scene of action. In a number of compositions, landscape details formed speculative and theological schemes that reflected medieval ideas about the Universe.
In the medieval art of the countries of the Muslim East, landscape elements were initially represented very sparingly, with the exception of rare examples based on Hellenistic traditions. From the XIII-XIV centuries. they occupy an increasingly significant place in book miniature, where in the XV-XVI centuries. in the works of the Tabriz school and the Herat school, landscape backgrounds, distinguished by the radiant purity of colors, evoke the idea of nature as a closed magic garden. Landscape details achieve great emotional power in the medieval art of India (especially in miniatures starting from the Mughal school), Indochina and Indonesia (for example, images of tropical forests in reliefs on mythological and epic themes). Landscape occupied an extremely important position as an independent genre in the painting of medieval China, where ever-renewing nature was considered the most visual embodiment of the world law (Tao); this concept finds direct expression in the Shan Shui type of landscape (“gur-woods”). Japanese landscape, formed by the 12th-13th centuries. and experienced strong influence Chinese art is distinguished by its heightened graphic quality, its tendency to highlight individual, most decoratively advantageous motifs, and finally, a more active role.
Landscape as an independent genre was finally formed in the 17th century. It was created by Dutch painters. Back in the 16th century, artists turned to nature (P. Bruegel in the Netherlands). Special flourishing landscape painting observed in the XVII – XVIII centuries(Rubens in Flanders, Rembrandt and Ruisdael in Holland, Poussin, C. Lorrain in France). Valer systems and light-air perspective were created. In the 19th century, the creative discoveries of landscape masters, the conquest of plein air painting (C. Corot in France, A.A. Ivanov, A. Savrasov, F. Vasiliev, I. Shishkin, I. Levitan, V. Serov in Russia) were continued by the impressionists (E . Manet, C. Monet, O. Renoir in France, K. Korovin, I. Grabar in Russia) who opened up new possibilities in conveying the variability of the light-air environment, the elusive states of nature, and the richness of colorful shades.
The landscape genre not only expresses the endless diversity and beauty of nature at different times of the year, in different climatic conditions, under sunlight and moonlight, but also conveys feelings and moods. Any of the artists who painted landscapes is based on real nature, but at the same time, very different images arise, because the main thing is the individuality of the artist. He does not paint from nature, but conveys his inner state in painting, so each artist has his own favorite color combinations, techniques, and individual attitude to color.

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The purpose of the lesson: introduce schoolchildren to various types and landscape characters, paintings famous artists.

Lesson objectives:

teach to distinguish between types of landscape and the nature of the landscape;
develop students’ spatial imagination, creative thinking, and aesthetic taste;
execute practical work using the information received in the lesson;
cultivate a friendly attitude in the team, teach discipline;
create a sketch on the topic: “The road I wanted to take”

Lesson type: combined.

Lesson type: lesson using ICT lectures, creative work.

Student age: 6th grade.

Hardware and software: computer with Windows XP Professional, multimedia projector, projector board.

Art materials: album, simple pencil or charcoal.

Visual aids (reproductions of paintings in the presentation):

Alexey Savrasov “The rooks have arrived”
Nikolay Anokhin “Old Oaks”
Isaac Levitan "March"
Malikova Daria “Stop Angel”
Maria Seed "Park Landscape"
Irina Mysova “Quiet Bay”
B. Yakovlev “Transport is getting better”
Pavel Korin "Alexander Nevsky"
A. Rylov “In the blue expanse”
V. Polenov “Moscow courtyard”, “Birch alley in Abramtsev Park”
N. Roerich “Izborsk Towers”, “Cross on the Truvorov Settlement”, “Watch”, “Slavic Land”, “ Sunday Monastery in Uglich", "Pechora.
Great Belfry", "Heavenly Battle"
Levitan "Lake"
I. Shishkin “Road in the Forest”, “Forest”, “Ship Grove” “Afternoon in the vicinity of Moscow”, “For mushrooms”, “Rye”
F. Vasiliev “Village”, “Village Street”, “Wet Meadow”
A. Savrasov “Rainbow”, “Sea of Mud”, “Country Road”, “Rye” Korovin K. " Early spring
", "Yard", "Winter" A.P. Ostroumov-Lebedev “Fountain and summer garden
in the frost", "Amsterdam",
Dobuzhinsky M.V. “House in St. Petersburg”, “London. Monument", "Petersburg"
S. Shchedrin “Landscape with ruins”, “Column with an eagle in Gatchina”,
A. Benois “Water parterre in Versailles Park”, “Versailles”, “Water parterre in Versailles”, “Venice Garden”,
I.K. Aivazovsky “Moonrise in Feodosia”, “Stormy Sea at Night”,
Zlobin Pavel. "At the Volga"
Veronika Surovtseva “Flowers in the Forest”,
Vladislav Koval “Zone”,
A.M. Vasnetsov “Moscow courtyard in winter”, “Ruins of a house”, “House of the former Archaeological Society”,

Alexey Brikov “Train”, “Construction of the Kuibyshev State District Power Plant” Interdisciplinary connections:

geography, history.

Lesson plan:
Organizing time. Studying new topic
: "Scenery. Its types and characters."
Fixing the material.
Practical work.
Analysis of works.

Giving grades in a diary and journal.

DURING THE CLASSES

I. Organizational moment

II. Explanation of a new topic

(Slides 2, 3)

– Today in class I would like to introduce you to various types and characters of the landscape, paintings by famous artists and artists of the Volgograd region. Before starting the lesson, let’s set ourselves the tasks that we will solve during the lesson:

(Slide 4)
1. Learn to distinguish between types of landscape and the nature of the landscape,
2. To develop students’ spatial imagination, creative thinking, and aesthetic taste
3. Do practical work by creating a sketch on the topic “The road I would like to take.”

4. Cultivate a friendly attitude in the team, learn discipline.

(Slide 5)

– Who in our time does not know what a landscape is? Children's response

: This is a picture that depicts a forest, field, river, sea or city, village, railway, etc.

The Dahl Encyclopedia gives the following definition of landscape: it is a direct echo of a person’s soul, a mirror of his inner world.
On Wikipedia the definition is as follows: landscape (French) Paysage, from pays- country, area), in painting and photography - a type of picture depicting nature or some area (forest, field, mountains, grove, village, city).

The inexhaustible diversity of nature has given rise to various types of landscape genres in the fine arts.

1. Rural landscape

Many artists resorted to this landscape - Fyodor Aleksandrovich Vasiliev, Alexey Kondratievich Savrasov, Isaac Ilyich Levitan, Konstantin Alekseevich Korovin, etc. In the rural landscape, the artist is attracted by the poetry of rural life, its natural connection with the surrounding nature.

2. Cityscape It is distinguished by a spatial environment rationally organized by human hands, including buildings, streets, avenues, squares, embankments.
The image of old St. Petersburg greatly inspired a creative group called “World of Art”.
A special place in creating the image of baroque, classical and contemporary St. Petersburg was occupied by Mstislav Valerianovich Dobuzhinsky (“Petersburg”, “House in St. Petersburg”) and Anna Petrovna Ostroumova-Lebedeva, who created a whole series of engravings dedicated to this city.

3. Park landscape

It depicts corners of nature created for relaxation and satisfying the aesthetic needs of people. Such landscapes were created by Semyon Fedorovich Shchedrin in the 18th century and Alexander Nikolaevich Benois at the end of the 19th century. Their paintings show a harmonious combination of natural forms with decorative sculpture and architecture.

4. Seascape

Paintings depicting a seascape are also called marinas. Wikipedia gives the following definition: Marina (Italian marina, from Latin marinus – sea) – one of the types of landscape, the object of which is the sea. Marina - talks about the unique beauty of the sometimes calm and sometimes stormy sea.
In Russia there were very few adherents of this landscape, but the brightest of them was Ivan Konstantinovich. Aivazovsky. His paintings “The Black Sea” and “The Ninth Wave” are known all over the world. Today we bring to your attention the paintings “Moonrise in Feodosia”, “Stormy Sea at Night”.

5. Architectural landscape is in close contact with the urban. But in an architectural landscape, the artist pays main attention to the depiction of architectural monuments in synthesis with the environment. Nikolay turned to the architectural landscape Konstantinovich Roerich, Alexander Nikolaevich Benois, Pyotr Petrovich Konchalovsky and others.

6. In an industrial landscape the artist strives to show the role and importance of man - the creator, the builder of plants and factories, dams and power plants. This landscape appeared in Soviet times. It was inspired by the idea of restoration National economy after the devastating years of civil war.
It began in the 20s of the 20th century with the painting “Transport is getting better” by Boris Nikolaevich Yakovlev. The sparse pictorial and narrative language of the painting seems to be akin to the harsh times. The poetics of the industrial landscape has become central theme the work of many artists throughout the 20th century.

Diversity of landscape in character.
Depicting nature, the artist reflects the ideas of the people of his era about the beauty in the reality around them.
The artist interprets each landscape in his own way, investing it with a certain meaning.
There are five types of landscape character. It is a heroic, historical, epic, romantic and mood landscape. Let's take a closer look at them.

(Slide 15)

1. Heroic landscape

This can be called a landscape in which nature appears majestic and inaccessible to humans.
It depicts high rocky mountains, mighty trees, calm waters, and against this background - mythical heroes and gods. This is what the landscape looks like in Pavel Korin’s triptych “Alexander Nevsky”.

(Slide 16)

This type of landscape includes A. Rylov’s painting “In the Blue Expanse”. It was written in 1918, and it allegorizes the heroic-romantic image of freedom and courage: free birds in the free sky, a tiny sailboat in the ringing space, sailing towards the messengers of the awakening earth.

2. Landscape of mood

The desire to find in various states of nature a correspondence with human experiences and moods gave the landscape a lyrical coloring. Feelings of melancholy, sadness, hopelessness or quiet joy are reflected in the mood landscape.
– Which artist’s name is associated with the appearance of the lyrical landscape? (A. Savrasov “The rooks have arrived.”)
– Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov gave life to the so-called lyrical landscape, in which he was also present everyday genre: “Moscow courtyard”, “Birch alley in Abramtsev Park”.
A student of Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov and Vasily Dmitrievich Polenov, Isaac Ilyich Levitan combined an epic and intimate, lyrical line in his work. “Om was one of the first Russian artists who began to paint blue and purple shadows on the snow, who conveyed the beauty of the subtlest shades of the color scheme of summer twilight and the blue transparency of moonlight.” He established the landscape in Russian art, which is called the “mood landscape.”

3. Historical landscape

IN landscape genre historical events are indirectly embodied, which are reminiscent of the depicted architectural and sculptural monuments associated with these events. Such a landscape is called historical. He revives the long past in his memory and gives it a certain emotional assessment.
First of all, Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich and Appolinary Mikhailovich Vasnetsov should be called representatives of the historical landscape. Both were fond of archeology and were great experts on Russian antiquity. In 1903 N.K. Roerich wrote “Izborsk Towers”, “Cross on the Truvorov Settlement”, and later resurrected the military past of the ancient city in the paintings “Watch”, “I See the Enemy”, “Slavic Land”. The artist set himself the task of glorifying the beauty of ancient Russian architecture in the language of painting, and convincing his contemporaries of the enormous value of ancient monuments. A.M.

Vasnetsov restored pictures of the life of our ancestors in urban landscapes. He wrote Moscow in the 17th century.

4. Epic landscape Majestic pictures of nature, full of inner strength, special significance and dispassionate calm, are characteristic of the epic landscape. In a manner perfect image
The Russian land, glorious for its forest riches, wide fields and mighty rivers, was created by Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin. Characteristic in this regard is the last great work of Isaac Ilyich Levitan - “Lake”; the artist gave it a second name - “Rus”, thus denoting the epic program of the work. In this landscape the artist seeks to show collective image

Russian nature in its characteristic state.

5. Romantic landscape
The landscape sometimes captures a rebellious beginning, disagreement with the existing order of things, the desire to rise above the ordinary, to change it. Thunderclouds, swirling clouds, gloomy sunsets, violent winds are the motives of a romantic landscape.
The spirit of romanticism is present in the paintings of Alexei Kondratyevich Savrasov “Country Road” and “Rye”.
Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky was called a romantic artist.
In the outstanding work of Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich “Heavenly Battle”, clouds are piled above the wavy outlines of the hills - sometimes swirling, sometimes straight and sharp, like arrows. The combination of dynamism with majestic and solemn monumentality can be classified as an epic-romantic landscape.

Nature is a book of wisdom.
The landscape helps you read this book and master the precious wealth contained in it.
He depicts nature in its individual manifestations and therefore can gradually reveal its innermost meaning.
Nature teaches and educates us directly, daily and deeply.

III. Fixing the material

1. What landscapes can you name based on the type of image?
2. How do landscapes differ in character?
3. Which landscape is closest to your spirit?
4. Determine the type and nature of landscapes painted by Volgograd artists

(Slide 22)

IV. Practical work

Make a sketch on the topic “The road I would like to take” or “The architectural landscape that I would like to see around me (landscape of the future, present, past).”
Materials: album, pencil, charcoal (optional).
Audience: F. Vasiliev. Village street. Ah, Lentulov. Landscape with dry trees and tall houses, St. Basil's Cathedral. M. Dobuzhinsky. House in St. Petersburg, A. Benois. Versailles. The King's Walk. Aivazovsky. Black Sea. B. Yakovlev. Transport is getting better. Rylov. In the blue expanse. Polenov. Moscow courtyard. Levitan. Evening bells, Lake. Roerich. Slavic land. Heavenly fight. Vasiliev. Before the storm.

(Slide 23)

V. Analysis of works

VI. Giving grades in a diary and journal

(Slide 24)

- Thank you for the lesson!

Landscape painting, also known as landscape art, is the depiction of nature in all its forms. These are mainly mountains, valleys, trees, rivers and forests. The main feature is the presence of a wide view, as well as its elements located in a coherent composition. There are different types of landscapes, including rural and urban, sea and river, religious and futuristic.

Types of landscape: the essence

The most popular element of any landscape is the sky. The weather in all its manifestations is also included in the composition. Landscape views in art can be completely imaginary (imaginary) or copied from reality with varying degrees of accuracy. If the main purpose of the image is to represent an actual, specific location, especially buildings, then it will be called a topographical (realistic) view.

The concept of "landscape"

In the visual arts, the term "landscape" comes from the Dutch word landchap(a piece of land) and describes any painting or drawing the main subject of which is the depiction of a picturesque view. Examples include grasslands, hills, mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, forests, coastal views and seas. A painting can be an image real place, or it may be an imaginary or idealized scene.

Recognition of nature and its choice as specific subject art is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the 17th century, landscapes were limited to backgrounds of portraits or paintings devoted primarily to religious, mythological or historical illustrations. Today beautiful view landscape continues to be the main theme in art.

Landscape through the centuries

In the work of 17th century artists Claude Lorraine and Nicolas Poussin, the landscape background began to dominate the display historical events. However, their interpretation of the landscape was somewhat stylized or artificial. They tried to adopt the landscape views of Greece and Rome, and their work became known as the classical landscape. At the same time, some Dutch artists, such as Jacob van Ruisad, were developing a much more naturalistic form of painting based on what they saw around them.

When the arts were classified by the French Academy in the seventeenth century, landscape was placed fourth in importance among the five genres. Nevertheless, landscape painting became increasingly popular in the 18th century, despite the predominance of classical motifs.

Landscape and its position in the hierarchy of genres

Landscape was an established genre in Chinese art by the fourth century AD, but in Western art, landscape painting dates back to the era of Renaissance art in the sixteenth century. Of course, many artists since Roman times and earlier included picturesque landscapes and views of nature in their paintings, but they were auxiliary elements main topic paintings. The main problem with the landscape was that it was very low in the academic distribution of genres.

The hierarchy of types of fine art during the Renaissance was as follows:

Historical painting.
Portrait art.
Painting, that is, scenes from everyday life.
Scenery.
Still life.

These rankings were finally set out in 1669 by the secretary of the French Academy, André Félibien. Thus, the art world, including its patrons, teachers and artists, did not take landscape painting seriously and assigned great value to historical works, portraits and genre pictures. Neoclassical and academic schools followed Greek art in giving primacy human body, especially naked.

The Boom of Naturalistic Landscape Design

The nineteenth century saw a veritable surge in naturalistic landscape design, driven partly by the idea that nature was a direct manifestation of God, and partly by the growing alienation of many people from nature due to increasing industrialization and urbanization. As a result, the traditional hierarchy of genres collapsed.

Landscape artists of the 19th century centuries entered into a large-scale romantic movement, it was at this time that landscape painting finally became a worthy genre in the art academies of Europe and became widespread throughout the world. In the second half of the twentieth century, the definition of landscape was questioned. The genre expanded to urban and industrial landscapes, and artists began to use less traditional means when creating landscape works.

Three types of landscape art

A painting or photograph that depicts nature is called landscape art. Although every artist has his own own style, this genre is usually grouped into three broad categories:

Representational landscape art is the most basic genre. No special colors or filters are used in the details to create an unrealistic effect. In contrast, representational landscape art focuses on the natural beauty of nature and paints a realistic picture of the subject.
Impressionist landscape art focuses on depicting a realistic scene in an almost unrealistic light. This is achieved through several techniques, including separating the foreground from the background using soft focus, using unusual lighting techniques, or incorporating saturated, bright, or unnatural colors. Impressionist landscape art largely responds to the artist or photographer's eye and ability to create a stunning natural image.
Abstract landscape art relies less on the environment of the landscape and more on representing the main subject of the image. In an abstract piece, the landscape may be the background, and the foreground may be the focus on one component, such as a tree branch unusual shape or the shadow of a large object.

Each style has its own characteristics, varying colors, lighting and props. In landscape paintings, as a rule, additional elements are added besides the landscape itself. Traditionally these are animals and people. The purpose of the landscape part is to demonstrate natural beauty nature, be it calming, violent or surreal.

Natural landscapes

Landscape painting refers to a work of art in which the main emphasis is on the depiction of nature (mountains, forests, rocks, trees, rivers, valleys, etc.). The Earth is a wondrous creation, from barren deserts to lush rainforests, from endless oceans to cloudy skies. Throughout history, artists have found inspiration in the mysterious beauty of nature and the majesty of the Earth's varied landscapes.

Cityscape: types of cityscape

Landscape paintings are not limited to images of land and nature. For example, they may also include images of buildings, streets, bridges. This type of landscape is called urban. His sketches may include various historical or modern objects. The views of the cityscape are determined according to what is depicted in the painting. Some of the most attractive are images of palaces and castles, religious monuments, as well as residential buildings of the 17th-19th centuries.

Rural and park landscape

When the nature and results of conscious human activity meet together, a certain dissonance is bound to arise. But there is an environment where these two conflicting parties are able to come to an agreement among themselves and achieve relative balance. First of all, these are rural areas and landscape parks, where nature is complemented by architectural elements. The rural landscape has been one of the most popular landscape themes at all times. Artists depicted a house on a hill or near a pond, green meadows with grazing sheep, country roads, and so on.

Topographic landscapes

Flat objects differ from three-dimensional three-dimensional objects, which have length, width and height. One of the options for depicting a landscape is that the image is given a more or less clearly defined relief. This type of landscape is called topographical or sculptural.

Documentary landscapes

Another type of landscape painting is documentary landscapes, which depict scenes from everyday life. The included human figures deserve as much attention as the trees or houses. On the one hand, they add life to the composition, on the other hand, they emphasize the size of the surrounding space in comparison with a person.

Landscapes with animals

A distinctive feature of the landscape is that with their help a feeling of peace, contentment and harmony is created. However, living nature is a continuous movement. Trees, plants, rain, wind - these are all dynamic and changeable factors; in this regard, it is quite natural to place animals among them as an integral component of all living nature.

The views can be very different: the mood landscape symbolizes the lyrical coloring of feelings, the architectural one is very reminiscent of the city, sea (marina) and river show the endless beauty of the water landscape. The historical and heroic types are associated with great warriors, mythical heroes and gods. The decorative landscape serves as an excellent interior decoration. There is no specific number of species. Depending on the artist’s vision, industrial (city views), epic, romantic or even cosmic landscapes are distinguished.

The main feature of this genre of fine art is that the main subject of the image is nature in its original form or transformed by man.