Good for watercolour and pastels alone? Paper and cardboard have also been used extensively for oil sketches, and more.
Gude
A social realist whose themes spanned controversial topics such as poverty and prostitution, he was a major influence of Edvard Munch, and central to Nordic and northern European art.
Visits to Scotland became popular among artists in the nineteenth century. Here are wonderful paintings by AW Hunt, Gustave Doré, Rosa Bonheur, Hans Gude, and others.
There’s two ways to paint a coastal cliff: from the beach, or on the top. Surprisingly few landscape painters have opted for the latter. Here are some examples.
Are they part of a narrative, or staffage? Do they provide scale, or enhance the effect? Are the figures part of the landscape, or even the landscape itself?
When a landscape artist finds it hard to paint figures well, there is one good solution: work with a figurative painter. The results can be spectacular.
First article outlining Munch’s life and work. His early works shocked critics in Norway, and in Berlin brought an exhibition to a premature end.
After a visit to Berlin, his colours became more strident, and his brushstrokes looser. He also made many woodcuts, which influenced and informed his paintings.
With early success, he painted the rich colours of summer in western Norway, and some magical scenes of foxgloves and Midsummer Eve.
Natural Norway in the early 20th century, with its courting couple in a cowshed, watermills, dramatic fjords, and rugged hills.
