A Brief History of Landscape Painting

(This is an edited repost of two original blogs by Gallery Marquette member artist John French. Used with permission)

Please note: I am NOT an Art Historian. This is a summary of some quick research and observations of my own. Just to be clear, my research included reading actual books.

What makes a painting a Landscape painting?

A landscape in art is simply defined as an artistic representation of countryside or other scenery. Buildings can be included. Animals and figures can be present, but they’re not the primary focus of the painting.

When did Landscape Painting start as an art form?

Early in art history, paintings were usually created for educational or religious purposes; they told a story. The backgrounds of these paintings often had simple landscapes, just to set the scene. The landscapes were part of the story, but never the star of the show.

Over time the background scenery got more and more detailed and realistic. In the Renaissance period, in the 1400 and 1500’s, artists began experimenting with creating more depth in their work with the use of linear perspective and atmospheric perspective.

Linear perspective creates the illusion of depth by using receding lines. Think of a straight run of railroad tracks, with the tracks converging in the distance.

Atmospheric Perspective is a technique used to suggest depth in a flat work by making far away objects bluer and less defined than the objects  which are closer.

Landscape comes into its own

In the 15th century, artists in The Netherlands began painting secular, non-religious landscapes. But the practice didn’t catch on elsewhere until the 17th century. In the 18th and 19th centuries, the practice of landscape painting became an acceptable and popular form of art.

The landscape painting, in the talented hands of varied artists, takes on many forms. Albert Bierstadt painted monumental, romanticized, and highly detailed pieces from the American west.

Impressionists like Claude Monet preferred to paint everyday life, therefore his landscapes were beautiful, serene, and straightforward depictions of the world he lived in. 

Vincent  Van Gogh painted subject matter similar to his contemporaries, but in a much more stylized presentation.

Landscape painting in the world today.

While I don’t have precise numbers, looking through any online art directory, it seems that landscape artists make up a majority of painters, with thousands of individual styles and techniques.  Landscape art has made its way into popular culture via Bob Ross and Thomas Kinkaid.

And who can forget the Ron Swanson quote from the TV show Parks and Rec :  “It’s pointless for a human to paint scenes of nature when they can go outside and stand in it.”

Why do I, as an artist, paint landscapes?

In short, because I love doing it, I’m good at it, and I have fans that love them.

How about figures, or portraits, or still lifes?

Since I was a little kid, I’ve drawn and painted figures. I enjoy painting figures. It was my favorite thing to do in college. I loved to place these figures in sword and sorcery scenes, so many times, they had fantastical landscapes as backgrounds. These fantasy-scapes were created from my observations of the real world. I didn’t pursue this course to the point of professional adequacy.

Later in my professional career, I painted a few portraits. I still do on occasion, but it’s not my favorite thing. I refuse to let a client take a portrait if they aren’t happy with it. That means I’ll spend hours and hours working a face until it’s right. It’s very time consuming.

I painted still lifes in school, and hated them. I find them boring and tight; they’re too claustrophobic to me. Which cleverly leads me to the main point…

I love big scenery!

I’m always in pursuit of a view. Since I was a young, I’ve been outside exploring my surroundings. I’ve waded through freezing streams, climbed mountains, chased a desert horizon, and jumped in icy-cold Lake Superior. It’s never been enough for me to look at a boulder without climbing the boulder. A new trail in the woods will entice me to just keep going, just to the next bend, just past the next curve. 

Given my love of the scenery around me, it’s little wonder that I love to create landscape paintings. I get to express my awe of the world around me. I see beauty all over, and by putting it on canvas, perhaps I can get someone else to see the beauty.

I like to say that when I paint a landscape, it’s like exploring the place I’m recreating, and using my brushes and colors to tell you what I see.

I can’t take you on a climb up that mountain, but I can take your eye, your imagination, and your heart on a climb up that mountain.

I can show you the dazzling colors I saw splashed in a stand of trees at sunset.

I can lead your eye into the depths of Lake Superior, and over it’s choppy swells.

I can make you wonder what’s around that bend, or down that slope, or over that ridge.

I can invite you to sit quietly and enjoy the view.

Hopefully, I can move your spirit with a landscape painting, just as I was moved when I saw the landscape in life.

In closing, I want to point out that many of my landscape paintings have paths or roads in them. This is very much  on purpose. This is my way of inviting you into the scene so you can explore with me. 

So please, come walk this path with me. Visit The Gallery Marquette at 130 West Washington Street.