Evolution of Landscape Painting

Taking a look at the Evolution of Landscape Painting

28/08/13

21st Century Art

I began by looking at the following installation by Kiki Smith (1954) called ‘Kitchen‘ 2005. I love the colours, the soft blues, the Chiaroscuro effect of the dark against light and the simplistic but powerful image this post-modern piece represents.

Kiki has captured a moment through a landscape of domesticity and a scene we can all relate to, especially women, through the use of familiar objects, softness of colour, stencilled leaves bringing in elements of nature on the upper walls, flowers, comforting chair, all aspects of this installation explore the concept of female domestic life which could have been lifted from any time in modern history.

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I then went on to look at Olwyn Bowey RA (1936) and ‘Fallen Tree with Mistletoe‘, exhibited at the Royal Academy’s Summer Exhibition 2013, Oil 90 x 94cm £8000.

Olwyn Bowey has a very distinctively impressionistic style. She initially had interest in figurative painting, then moved to landscape painting which she has also combined with still life. Bowey often works outdoors, her studio is also her greenhouse.

‘Fallen Tree with Mistletoe’ initially seems traditional & simple, however it does have modern day comparisons. Mistletoe is a parasitic and invasive species which ultimately kills its host by sapping nutrients and water . However it is extremely selective about which tree it will invade and as we all know it also has the romantic association of kissing whilst standing beneath it. Direct comparisons can be made in politics & religion, it can be compared to the civil wars of recent times, zealous regimes determined to fight for their beliefs sometimes at a high cost to their own people & country.

The grass growing beneath the tree may also be seen as representing those with positive environmental awareness, the dying tree those who care little for such issues, the Mistletoe those who scorn such issues.

I love the frantic mark making emphasising the movement of the tree’s branches, the pheasant walking calming through the painting minding its own business, no sweeping & pretty landscapes here, its about the tree and its relationship with its surroundings and fellow plant life.

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20th Century Art

Maine Winter (Watercolour) – 1990

William Thon (1906-2000) was an untrained American artist with a deep connection to the natural world.

I love the sense of depth created here, that illusive light which he has captured to perfect atmosphere, almost abstract in its composition.

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Welsh Farm Buildings, oil on hessian 50.7×68.6cm (sold at auction in 2005 for £18,750)

Sir Kyffin Williams RA (1918-2006) was a Welsh landscape painter, attending Slade School of Art and achieving much in the art world during his lifetime. He sadly passed away as a result of lung cancer, caused they believe through use of lead based paints.

His heavy, dramatic landscapes really capturing not only the characteristics of the Welsh landscape but also the harshness of both its landscape and the difficulties of life in the particular part of the country.

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19th Century Art

Claude Monet 1891 oil on canvas 89cmh x 92cmw

‘Poplars’ by Claude Monet 1891 oil on canvas 89cm x 92cm

A household name, Claude Monet (1840-1926) perhaps best known for his water-lilleys widely reproduced today, produced this oil painting in 1891, currently housed at the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge.

The slow sensual movement of the stand of trees, the hint of purple in the blue bringing through a warmth, the colour combination of blues and greens all make for a pleasurable experience. Unlike many landscape paintings, this is primarily focussing on something permanent & specific rather than a broad sweep of the landscape. Very much an impressionistic view, a en plein-air painting which Monet repainted in every season from a boat on the nearby river.

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Another rather traditional painting, ‘Lombardy Poplars on the Bank of a Lake’ was painted by Fyodor Vasilyev (1850-1873) a Russian landscape painter.

The yellow & purple are contrastingly vibrant, conjuring thoughts of a warm scented summer evening, the sun low in the sky casting long shadows with night not far away.

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18th Century Art

Paul Sandby (1725-1809) was instrumental in the reform and popularisation of landscape art in the 19th Century.

His ‘Ancient Beech Tree’ painting, currently located at the V&A in London this 19th Century painting, likely to be a watercolour or watercolour & ink image, is redolent of the times. The style is quite formal.