Painting landscape has been a popular art form in many cultures for centuries. While most of us cannot afford original masterpieces, modern reproductions and print allow us to bring them into our homes.

Painters of Landscape

While few of us can afford paintings by the greatest landscape artists like Monet and Constable, reproductions give us an affordable access to their works to enhance our decorating schemes.

Amateur painters often chose landscape as a subject matter as they may not have access to decent studio space and therefore can more easily paint in situ. This was not always the case and the first Impressionist to take their easels outside were viewed as rather unconventional, as artists before them would have painted inside from memory or sketches.

Painting landscape is an art tradition common to many cultures, and it goes hand-in-hand with the popularity of the genre. This was especially the case in Japan, North America, the Netherlands, France and Great Britain until the latter part of the twentieth century as other forms of artistic representation, such as Surrealism and Cubism, for example, grabbed the artists and critics’ attention. Nowadays with the advent of video and installations landscape artists are becoming a rare, rather obsolete breed.

With all this being said, let’s note, however, that most people still rather like landscape paintings. They usually convey a sense of emotional connection to the subject matter, which does not necessarily occur when one looks at a portrait or still life. This is particularly the case when the painting in question reminds of times past.

A number of very famous landscape artists became well known for concentrating on specific areas. In some cases it could almost be tantamount to obsession if you consider that Paul Cézanne, for instance, painted around eighty versions of the Sainte-Victoire mountain located near his home in Provence, France. He wanted to represent it as it looked to him throughout the year, with different weather.

In the seventeen century Holland saw the first European painters representing seascapes, Vermeer and Rembrandt. Since this time there has been a noted recurrence of sky and water themes for some landscape painters, like for instance the well-known English artist JMW Turner. Turner was fist noted for his representations of the sea and skies in violent storm conditions. This said his later works point to the future development of abstract painting by blurring the previously clear line between the water and the sky. French artist Claude Monet’s developed his technique for painting landscapes involving water by doing so in close proximity to his subject matter, which would sometimes involve painting from a small boat. American painters Homer and Wyeth, both renowned landscape painters, were also noted for the admirable way they managed to represent the effect of light on water surfaces.

Landscape paintings are a very popular form of art. By learning more about them, you could help make yourself love and appreciate them even more.

When you are searching for prints or posters to add to your walls, you will very often find several paintings that are completed by a landscape artist. Originals from the master painters are probably not in your price range, but a print or reproduction is probably more in your budget. This makes the landscapes by such artists as Monet, Constable, and Pissarro very accessible to all kinds of people.

Amateur artists most often choose landscapes for their first works. This may be due to the lack of studio space and the ease in which it is possible to find a subject out in the natural world. Most landscape artists before the time of Impressionism, painted inside their home or studio, working by memory or from drawings. Monet and Renoir took their work outside and were considered weird because they did so.

Landscape painting is done in many countries. Landscapes are particular predominant in Japan, Holland, the United States, France, and Britain. European landscape artists were influenced by two Japanese artists during the 19th century. Hokusai and Hiroshige painted images of mountain ranges, forests, and the ocean using bright colors. From the twentieth century forward, other forms of art began to occupy the time and effort of artists and critics. Abstract Expressionism, Surrealism, and Cubism became much more popular. This has made landscape painting somewhat unfashionable.

Most of the general public still loves purchasing and looking at landscapes. They feel very connected to the subject and this is even more evident when it reminds them of an area in their past. A portrait or still life will not evoke the same kind of response in most cases. You will find in looking at landscape paintings that some painters paint the same area. Paul Cezanne was a big example of this, due to the fact that he painted the same mountain range around eight times. The Montagne Sainte Victoire, near his home in France, became one of his favorite subjects. He enjoyed painting it in different seasons and different weather conditions.

Two of the first European landscape artists to paint the ocean were Rembrandt and Vermeer, both Dutch painters. Some artists enjoy painting sky and water as their recurring themes. JMW Turner, and English artists, enjoyed painting seas and stormy skies, but his paintings later turned to a more abstract painting of blurring the sea and the skies together. Monet perfected his water technique by sitting in a rowboat on the water. This helped him to get as close as possible to his subject. Winslow Homer and Andrew Wyeth are well-known American landscape artists who are well known for their ability to capture light on the water.