Landscape Painting Essay

This exhibition will feature six pieces that embody characteristics of a landscape during their specific art movement or period. It will feature pieces from the Classicism, Rococo, Romantic sublime, Romantic picturesque, Impressionism, and Regionalism movements. Each of the pieces embody the evolution of the landscape painting and how different movements in art effect what is included and the landscape, along with, how the landscape is depicted.

Landscape paintings are the presentment of the natural world in art. The emergence of landscape painting began because artists started to look at painting and subject matter with a new light. The traditional landscape painting emerged in the 17th century in Italy. Before then, landscape were primarily

The painting features Phocion’s widow and her maid in the foreground. Poussin’s work marked a change in France in which there was a move away from historical narrative. Furthermore, his piece presents the inclusion of architecture from antiquity. The foreground is framed by dark trees that are very meticulously painted. In the center, there is a classical temple. Its light is illuminating what is important in the composition. Overall, the painting gives a graceful background for a group of figures. The harmonious landscape is very carefully composed and detailed. Poussin uses warm, earthy tones to emphasize the harmonious landscape. The large shadows in the foreground along with the darkening sky create a slight tension making the scene ominous. Additionally, the composition has a triangular shape that leads the viewer into the painting towards the back of the

He claimed that he painted the series of water lilies for the fun of it. Much of his later work was based off his garden, known as Giverny, where he practiced open air painting. In his impressionist piece, The Waterlily Pond with Japanese Bridge, Monet uses broad strokes of bright color to capture the constantly changing light. Furthermore, he also builds up the texture of his paint giving it a fuzzy quality. There is subtle linear perspective seen in the pond that narrows as it moves back into space. The curved bridge bisects the painting but does not distract the viewer from the overall composition. There is a sense of peace with the use of composition, quality, and color. Monet effectively focuses on how the artist felt while painting rather than just focusing on the composition. The primary impressionist characteristic of Monet's work and its basic characteristics was his focus on texture, light and