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.
Since the first artist dabbed some paint onto a cave wall, people have depicted landscapes in their art. Early artists often painted scenes from daily life, like hunting. In ancient Rome it was popular to depict places that only existed in the artist's imagination. The Chinese also idealized nature by painting dreamscapes that didn't actually exist.
In the Middle Ages, artists more often depicted religious scenes with a more close-up view. However, from around the 14th Century landscapes became increasingly popular. The Dutch Golden Age of art was also a boom time for landscapes and artists like Esaias van de Velde, Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruisdael, Pieter de Molyn and Aelbert Cuyp specialized in the genre. Anthony van Dyck was one of the Dutch painters who introduced this specialty to England, where later on the leading landscape artists included JMW Turner, John Constable and Samuel Palmer.
The exploration and colonization of the New World brought with it a treasure trove of new landscapes to paint. For example, in 1825, Thomas Cole traveled up the Hudson River, painted the Catskills and became the founder of the Hudson River School. Other artists in this group were Asher Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt and John Frederick Kensett.
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.
Since the first artist dabbed some paint onto a cave wall, people have depicted landscapes in their art. Early artists often painted scenes from daily life, like hunting. In ancient Rome it was popular to depict places that only existed in the artist's imagination. The Chinese also idealized nature by painting dreamscapes that didn't actually exist.
In the Middle Ages, artists more often depicted religious scenes with a more close-up view. However, from around the 14th Century landscapes became increasingly popular. The Dutch Golden Age of art was also a boom time for landscapes and artists like Esaias van de Velde, Jan van Goyen, Jacob van Ruisdael, Pieter de Molyn and Aelbert Cuyp specialized in the genre. Anthony van Dyck was one of the Dutch painters who introduced this specialty to England, where later on the leading landscape artists included JMW Turner, John Constable and Samuel Palmer.
The exploration and colonization of the New World brought with it a treasure trove of new landscapes to paint. For example, in 1825, Thomas Cole traveled up the Hudson River, painted the Catskills and became the founder of the Hudson River School. Other artists in this group were Asher Durand, Frederic Edwin Church, Albert Bierstadt and John Frederick Kensett.
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.
