Looking back at the history of painting, landscapes in art developed slowly and became a recognized genre relatively late. As in any interesting story, there are a number of important factors – for a long time, especially in medieval Europe, the church was the main customer of art. Primarily promoted religious and biblical themes that described the lives of saints and mythological subjects. And as an independent genre of landscapes, it did not fit into this framework, which was driven by the church. Time passes – everything changes, and the main question remains, what happened next? During the Renaissance, landscape painting artwork began to gain some recognition, especially as the theory of perspective and light shading was being developed. However, landscapes served only as a background for something more, for example, as portraits – since they depicted important historical figures or simply significant people.
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Sooner or later, people’s attitudes had to change and they began to have a simpler attitude towards the art of painting and the main breakthrough was the recognition that “nature” is a source of not only beauty and spiritual experience, but also an inspiration for each of us – harmony and tranquility. These changes led to the first recognition that landscapes can be a separate and independent genre in the world of art.
As time came and with the growth of cities and the development of the middle class in the 17th and 18th centuries, then the demand for new forms of art increased – people began commissioning oil paintings to decorate their homes, and landscapes became a popular choice due to their ability to bring the beauty of nature into living spaces. And already in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, landscape painting gained widespread recognition thanks to artists who demonstrated that landscapes could be no less expressive and profound than historical or religious scenes. We can say that as a result of the history of painting, landscapes are becoming a relatively young genre, and thanks to this, the variety of oil paintings is in large quantities, and everyone will find something for themselves.
Landscape painting – the main character is nature
The evolution of landscape art painting at all times has been associated with changes in man’s views on nature and with the question: what is man’s place in it? By asking such moments, we ourselves unwittingly pushed and determined with an awareness of the role of “man and nature” in the process of the entire historical development of the world. So, landscape art painting consists of the main characters – the natural world, and other details, such as people and animals, may be present, but their role should be reduced to a secondary one, and not be the basis for an oil painting. The main goal of landscape art painting is to convey the beauty, grandeur and at the same time the calm and drama of natural scenes, to evoke in the viewer the necessary emotions and sensations that come from or are associated with nature. The elements that artists depict on canvas can be different, such as mountains and forests, rivers and lakes, and sometimes just the bustle of the city and the silence of village life.
Let’s look at the aspects in which natural painting can act:
1) There are landscape artists who, without thinking about anything, simply depict nature as it is – beauty and harmony, and such oil paintings evoke in viewers only a feeling of peace and admiration. For bedrooms, this is exactly what you need – to come after hard work, look at the warm forest landscape, which also depicts bears – it soothes the soul. Let’s call this the aesthetic value of landscape art painting.
2) Artists who focus on symbolism can leave details as a collection of thoughts for something more than just an oil painting in the landscape genre. For example, a stormy sea can cause anxiety and danger, but on the other hand there is a lake that speaks to us for peace and stability. Everything that we notice in the world around us is what the artist interprets in his works. Let’s call this the symbolism of landscape painting artwork.
3) At a certain moment, artists can transfer their emotional state and mood to oil paintings or a specific response from what they saw from a natural phenomenon. So, for example, a gloomy and cloudy landscape can characterize not only the change of natural processes, but reflect sadness and melancholy, and vice versa, sunlit meadows reflect joy and warmth. Let’s call this the emotional state of the artist in the process of creating landscape art painting.
4) To convey the historical context, even if it is a battle or urban color, landscape artists use skills to depict such scenes, although nature is not the center of the story, but it complements the oil painting so that it seems holistic. For example, to transfer cultural customs, such as Ivan Kupala – a Christian holiday, where young people relax in nature at night. Nature remains the background, and people become the main characters. Let’s call this a historical and cultural context for the formation of the plot of landscape painting artwork.
We have looked at the aspects in which landscapes can appear, but nature itself makes it possible to show how diverse and changeable it is – this is how the seasons of the year come to the rescue: spring, summer, autumn, winter. Each season opens up not only for artists, but also for viewers – new horizons, both for creativity and for contemplation from viewing.
landscape Art Painting – An Advantage in The Changing Seasons of The Year
Landscape painting in the art world not only has many varieties of biomes, but also different seasons, which provides a unique opportunity for artists to express the changes of nature on canvas, to show the landscape with the mood and atmosphere that is inherent in each season of the year.
Landscape artists who depict spring paint for oil paintings using bright and saturated colors that will indicate the awakening of nature. And spring symbolizes the rebirth and renewal of nature in the life cycle of the seasons. For example, let’s take Tarabanov’s oil painting with the title “Spring gardens” – we see flowering trees in the garden and lush greenery, which symbolizes the beginning of a new life cycle after hibernation. If you go deeper, it can convey the idea of rebirth, hope and new beginnings, and the girl in the painting in a white dress enhances the feeling of innocence and purity, at the same time symbolizing the harmony of man with nature.
Spring landscapes often evoke a feeling of joy, hope and renewal in life – so, artists try to convey this through a palette of green, yellow, and pink shades of flowers, and Tarabanov’s oil painting is no exception – a quiet pond, flowering trees, flowering fields – all this together create an idyllic atmosphere, offering the viewer a sense of peace and joy from being in nature. The effect was created by the artist using textured brush strokes to depict the grass and flowers, which gives the oil painting a liveliness and tactility, while the details on the nature objects and the girl create not only realism, but also depth. Not forgetting that colors create a gentle and romantic atmosphere, giving freshness and lightness to a spring morning in the garden.
Let’s move from the awakening of spring to hot summer days, so, in landscapes depicting summer, artists use the same principle of filling the environment as for a spring landscape – with bright and saturated colors, reflecting the full power of nature. Summer is primarily associated with warmth, light, and symbolizes the beginning of something new – a positive stage in life. For example, let’s take an oil painting by the artist Litvinov with the title “Summer day” – then in it we see a summer landscape that conveys an atmosphere of calm and natural beauty. The painting conveys a cozy corner of nature, where a forest stream reigns; the calm surface of the water reflects the trees and sky, while creating a feeling of loneliness and relaxation from the bustle of the city. In a word, you find yourself as if in a divine paradise, only without a garden and maidens, but only nature itself – full of greenery and dense trees, which symbolizes abundance and fertility, rich green shades convey a feeling of the fullness of life.
Artists need to harmonize between colors like green, blue and yellow – to convey the right mood of a summer day. Summer landscapes often evoke feelings of energy, activity and joy, and this is well conveyed in Litvinov’s oil painting. The idea of this landscape is its simplicity to convey the sensations and emotions associated with a summer day in nature – the artist strives to show beauty, thereby evoking in the viewer feelings of peace and a desire to touch it. A competent compositional solution for an oil painting gives the viewer more and more reflection: how important it is to enjoy nature and appreciate the moments of peace and harmony that it provides us.
Summer days are of course a reason to relax and lounge on the beach, but then comes the fall season, where it changes from hot to cold days. In autumn landscapes, although warm, rich colors are often used, they are needed only to emphasize the fallen golden leaves from the trees, and autumn itself symbolizes change and preparation for winter. For clarity, let’s look at an example of an oil painting from the artist Savenets with the title “Forest walk” – it depicts an autumn landscape, which conveys the atmosphere of a quiet and picturesque day, as if in front of you is a colledeiscope of yellow-orange flowers. These colors are associated with autumn and convey a certain illusion of warmth on cool days, they also symbolize the transition period – a time of change and nature’s preparation for the enveloping winter blanket. The oil painting depicts an autumnal forest park, and along the path of which a woman wearing a blue coat and hat strolls; which in itself suggests to us a sense of solitude and reflection, as symbolizing a personal time for reflection and contemplation, and it often comes into our lives along with autumn.
Each of us is accustomed, both in life and in the art of painting, that autumn is primarily associated with fallen leaves that cover the ground – this conveys the cyclical nature of nature and the inevitability of the change of seasons. And in Savenet’s painting – this is perfectly conveyed, fallen leaves in an autumn park create depth and realism, trees with thinning foliage and a blue sky lead to a feeling of complete peace. As always, autumn brings a person into thought and reflection, and the person depicted in the painting characterizes how the path of life has been traveled – the path from the past to the present new self. The fall landscape along this road may suggest that each person experiences their own seasons of life differently, and fall is a time for slowing down and preparing for new beginnings. As a result, the artist masterfully conveys the feeling and emotions associated with autumn; he sought to show the beauty of the autumn park, evoking in the viewer feelings of nostalgia for the path traveled.
Autumn is gradually ending and winter is coming – although it is associated with a cold and snowy world, for many it is a fairy tale from which one does not want to leave. Usually artists convey winter landscapes as purity, cold or silence, but there are scenes in which you seem to be immersed in that very childhood when you lived and celebrated the New Year in the village. So, for example, let’s take an oil painting from the artist Kizenko with the title “Christmas Carols” – it depicts a village on the evening of New Year’s Eve, where a group of people are walking through the streets on this wonderful holiday. The atmosphere is conveyed as warm, despite the winter, full of joy and festive traditions; the painting is dominated by cold blue shades of snow and sky, contrasting with the warm light from the windows of the houses, creating a cozy and festive mood. Everything is as it should be in a fairy tale – a winter night with a bright starry sky and snow-covered trees and houses – the mood conveyed by the artist makes you want to believe and immerse yourself.
Winter landscapes in painting take us to that moment when it seems that everywhere is cold and lonely – this is not so, although white, blue and gray tones predominate, displaying snow, ice and the winter sky. But, among the frosty wind and large snowdrifts, hidden like nothing else, the yellow glow in the windows of the houses, the glow of lights from the streets is visible – all this gives a warmth and cozy atmosphere. And the artist Kizenko copes with this perfectly in his painting – the canvas depicts a rural area with wooden houses and fences covered with snow, and in the foreground there are people holding a Christmas star. Indicates that they are participating in the traditional Christmas ritual of caroling – symbolizing unity, communication and the preservation of cultural traditions. The next central element is the Christmas star and is cleverly woven into the composition of the painting and conveys the spirit of the joy of Christmas – and as a hidden character that illuminates people’s faces, emphasizing their happiness and delight. And tree branches covered with snow create a feeling of that very magic of winter, and the landscape enhances the effect and shows the right compositional decision about beauty and harmony.
The main idea of Kizenko painting is to convey the festive mood and spirit of Christmas, despite the cold winter. The artist sought to show both traditions and joint celebrations among friends/family/loved ones that they all bring only warmth and joy even on the coldest days. And thus, the painting reminds us that it is important to preserve not only cultural heritage, but also to value and respect family values - common traditions unite people and bring light and hope to their lives, when there is only darkness everywhere.
Here we are completing our tour of landscape art painting that depict different seasons; they not only convey visual changes in nature, but also evoke certain emotions and moods in the viewer. Artists use specific color palettes and compositional techniques to depict the unique properties of each of the seasons of the year, creating deep and varied works of art that look at the landscape and think – it’s time to take a vacation and go to the mountains.
landscape painting artwork – other topics for composition
The genre of landscapes in the world of painting has many faces and depicts not only nature, but also all kinds of urban motifs, rural life or with historical castles – this all speaks of limitless opportunities for artists seeking to capture the diversity of the surrounding world. Landscape art painting opens the “door” for art masters to explore, and this is not only the beauty of nature, but also the disclosure of deep emotional and historical contexts: like ancient city streets or the ordinary life of people. Thus, they look both into the past and into the future, often giving free rein to their fantasies, and sometimes pouring their mood into paint – which is usually used in impressionism. For example, in the 20th century, landscape painters began to turn to space themes, reflecting it as realistic and at the same time fantastic in ideas about the depths of the Universe and on canvas such oil paintings are breathtaking.
As you understand, landscape painting artwork contains not only forests and seas, thunderstorms and rainbows, but also city architecture and village life. Let’s take an example of an oil painting by artist Olesia Osnach called “November” – the depicted rural landscape conveys the atmosphere of a calm and measured rural life. Even though the painting depicts a cozy corner of the village with small houses surrounded by wooden fences and courtyard buildings, it creates a feeling of such homely warmth and simplicity of rural life. Like most landscapes, they should convey the spirit of the season of the year, and judging by the foliage painted by the artist, this is autumn. Symbolizes the time of harvest, completion of agricultural work and preparation for winter. To emphasize the rural way of life, the foreground of the oil painting shows chickens walking freely along the village road – animals are an integral part of everyday life. The artist Osnach laid down the idea for this painting as the calm and harmony of rural life – she reminds us of the importance of preserving traditions and closeness to nature, emphasizing the value of a simple and measured life away from the bustle of the city.
Moving from rural life to historical and architectural landscapes, first of all, artists pay attention to majestic castles, fortresses, palaces and other historical buildings. They include elements that convey the spirit of a certain era – these can be monuments, ruins, ancient streets and squares, and palettes often use warm, muted ones, creating an atmosphere of time. Historical landscapes evoke in the viewer a feeling of admiration and respect for the past, and interest in history and culture does not go away anywhere – they can be romantic and inspiring, evoking thoughts of the greatness and beauty of past eras. Consider an oil painting by the European artist Karl Klupp Munchen with the title “Medieval castle” – it depicts the atmosphere of a medieval city with ports where castles and sailing ships are visible. The main highlight of the oil painting is, of course, the image of a historical and massive castle with high towers and battlements, which is a characteristic feature of the architecture of that century; as elsewhere, the castle symbolizes strength, protection and historical heritage, being an important element of the past.
To emphasize the importance of the commercial port and navigation in the life of the historical city, sailing ships with large sails are depicted, and this symbolizes communication with the outside world and economic activity, as well as cultural exchanges between countries. The artist used soft and muted shades to convey the atmosphere of the ancient city and it creates the feeling of time that it has passed through its entire unbroken path of prosperity. And pastel colors and the play of light and shadow further enhance the historical authenticity and drama of the oil painting; the careful elaboration of the details of the castle, sails and water creates a feeling of liveliness and verisimilitude. Allows the viewer to feel part of the scene and plunge into the atmosphere of that time.
To summarize what has been written, landscape art painting (as we noticed), it covers many genres and subjects, and represents an inexhaustible source of inspiration for both artists and viewers. Allows you to convey the diversity and variability of the world – this is from natural landscapes to urban scenes; Through landscapes, artists express their personal impressions, emotions, ideas, creating works that resonate in the hearts of viewers and invite them to plunge into places they have never been before.
All examples of photographs and artists are kindly provided by Ukrainian Vintage Co.
