Table of contents and a full index to all the artists whose paintings are discussed in this series.
composition
From Giorgione, Dürer and Altdorfer to Turner, Pissarro, Monet and Renoir: landmarks in the composition of landscape paintings.
From Dürer and Poussin to Cézanne and Hodler, reflections have been important in many landscape paintings.
The more of less regular repetition of form to generate rhythms has long been used in figurative painting, but in the 19th century became prominent in landscapes.
Technically very challenging, most are painted in the studio, but some are quite unreal, and others suffer from the moon illusion.
Staffage – people, animals, birds, carts and ships – make a big difference to many landscape paintings. Have you met the Wanderer too?
With its central role in visual art, light and its source plays a critical role in composition. It’s also one of the challenges to those painting in the studio or in front of the motif.
From conventional composition in the early days of Impressionism, landscapes have been reduced, eventually ending up as areas of colour and texture.
From panoramas to wide-angle views, the optical effects of Naturalist paintings, depth-of-field effects, and loss of depth through a telescope.
A tough compositional challenge: a square that isn’t even rectangular, with unequal sides and a high tower. Solutions by Canaletto and other masters.
The Eclectic Light Company 