An interesting painting can brighten up any drab-looking room and get your guests talking. If you want to be able to look at a painting and be spirited away to another place and time as well, you can't go wrong with paintings of landscapes, whether these are of familiar or exotic places. Through the ages, famous landscape painters have managed to inspire dreams of faraway places with their work.
Most landscape paintings provide a wide view of a location. It's as if you're standing in the great outdoors and looking out over the panorama spread out in front of you. The sky is usually visible and will show you whether it's sunny, whether there's a storm coming or whether it's a moonlit night. Nature is the most popular subject but the scenes can also include evidence of human activity, for instance through the presence of houses, agricultural fields or figures in the distance.
People have been painting landscapes since the dawn of civilization. Sometimes these were real places and hunting scenes were a popular subject. In Rome and in ancient China, artists also often painted imaginary landscapes with the waterfalls, rivers and lakes they could only dream about. Chinese paintings from this period are still a major influence on the country's artistic tradition.
In Europe, the Middle Ages saw a decline in paintings of landscapes as artists focused on scenes with a religious theme instead. The genre became more popular from the 14th century and during the Renaissance. By the 17th century, when the art world was dominated by Dutch and Flemish painters, landscapes were so popular that some artists, including Esaias van de Velde, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen, Aelbert Cuyp and Pieter de Molyn specialized in the subject. At around the same time Dutch artists like Anthony van Dyck went to work in England and inspired the art scene there too. Soon English artists like Samuel Palmer, John Constable and JMW Turner were among their country's foremost painters of landscapes.
In the New World, unexplored territories meant that there were pristine and dramatic landscapes to depict on canvas. Thomas Cole sailed up the Hudson River in the early 19th century and his paintings of the Catskills area started the Hundson River School. Asher Durand, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church and John Frederick Kensett became some of the most celebrated artists of the time.
Many artists weren't really landscape artists but painted some of the most famous works in the genre. For example, Albrecht Durer is known mainly for his engravings and drawings like 'Praying Hands' but he also painted stunning watercolor landscapes like 'View of Arco'. Vincent van Gogh's painting of sunflowers may be among the most expensive ever sold but he also painted 'The Starry Night' and the haunting 'Wheatfield with Crows'. Among Picasso's early works is a charming one simply titled 'Landscape'.
The best place to try and find landscapes by big-name artists is to attend art auctions. Some galleries may also have a few of these paintings for sale. Unfortunately you need about a million dollars or more if you want to own one of these pieces.
More within most people's reach would be to buy prints of well-known paintings. You'll find these from galleries or online. A great option is to go to a museum that displays works by famous landscape painters and then buy a poster of your favorite. You can then have it framed and you'll always be reminded of the day you stood in front of the original.
Most landscape paintings provide a wide view of a location. It's as if you're standing in the great outdoors and looking out over the panorama spread out in front of you. The sky is usually visible and will show you whether it's sunny, whether there's a storm coming or whether it's a moonlit night. Nature is the most popular subject but the scenes can also include evidence of human activity, for instance through the presence of houses, agricultural fields or figures in the distance.
People have been painting landscapes since the dawn of civilization. Sometimes these were real places and hunting scenes were a popular subject. In Rome and in ancient China, artists also often painted imaginary landscapes with the waterfalls, rivers and lakes they could only dream about. Chinese paintings from this period are still a major influence on the country's artistic tradition.
In Europe, the Middle Ages saw a decline in paintings of landscapes as artists focused on scenes with a religious theme instead. The genre became more popular from the 14th century and during the Renaissance. By the 17th century, when the art world was dominated by Dutch and Flemish painters, landscapes were so popular that some artists, including Esaias van de Velde, Jacob van Ruisdael, Jan van Goyen, Aelbert Cuyp and Pieter de Molyn specialized in the subject. At around the same time Dutch artists like Anthony van Dyck went to work in England and inspired the art scene there too. Soon English artists like Samuel Palmer, John Constable and JMW Turner were among their country's foremost painters of landscapes.
In the New World, unexplored territories meant that there were pristine and dramatic landscapes to depict on canvas. Thomas Cole sailed up the Hudson River in the early 19th century and his paintings of the Catskills area started the Hundson River School. Asher Durand, Albert Bierstadt, Frederic Edwin Church and John Frederick Kensett became some of the most celebrated artists of the time.
Many artists weren't really landscape artists but painted some of the most famous works in the genre. For example, Albrecht Durer is known mainly for his engravings and drawings like 'Praying Hands' but he also painted stunning watercolor landscapes like 'View of Arco'. Vincent van Gogh's painting of sunflowers may be among the most expensive ever sold but he also painted 'The Starry Night' and the haunting 'Wheatfield with Crows'. Among Picasso's early works is a charming one simply titled 'Landscape'.
The best place to try and find landscapes by big-name artists is to attend art auctions. Some galleries may also have a few of these paintings for sale. Unfortunately you need about a million dollars or more if you want to own one of these pieces.
More within most people's reach would be to buy prints of well-known paintings. You'll find these from galleries or online. A great option is to go to a museum that displays works by famous landscape painters and then buy a poster of your favorite. You can then have it framed and you'll always be reminded of the day you stood in front of the original.
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If you want to see representative works of some of the famous landscape painters, pay a visit to our website today. You can learn more about the artists and their works at http://twinthuysen.com now.
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