Landscapes in Italian Renaissance
An Independent Theme in Change From Medieval Days to the Renaissance
During medieval times, the depiction of landscapes as an independent genre did not exist. The natural world was typically viewed more as an enemy or threat than anything positive to be glorified in a painting. In addition, the people of medieval times would not be encouraged to find nature and the beauties of the great outdoors things to be enjoyed. To do so would be a temptation to excess and sin and thus against the prevailing religious views. Aristocratic lords and ladies, even monks, were advised not to take note of any sensual pleasures that might be present in, say, a rose garden or the refreshing waters of a wading stream.
These attitudes changed during the Renaissance. The people, undergoing a rebirth of interest in science and in humanity's relationship to the world, developed a new appreciation for nature. Additionally they rediscovered the ancient classical authors who had praised nature's wonders. And so, in the 1400s and 1500s, landscapes emerged as an independent subject matter for paintings.
The development of this form of painting changed as artists debated over many different concepts about landscape painting: Is nature inherently good or evil? Is the natural landscape a perfect Utopia or an untamed wilderness? Is the outdoors idyllic or rustic? Do human figures belong as an integral part of landscape scenes or only as means to give a sense of scale?
Along with these debates grew an interest, fueled by the scientific thinking of the Renaissance, in topographical accuracy and correct perspective. In Renaissance Italy the study of perspective gave rise to a careful rendering of scenery according to conventional formulas; for example, objects like trees that are closer appear much larger than trees of the same size that are far away. Many academies and drawing schools gave strict step-by-step training in drawing. Often nature was drawn by copying model sheets from inside the studio. Such standardization of lines and forms as seen in such paintings affect what we perceive as natural. Perhaps what at first seemed very natural in earlier paintings came to feel artificial to later generations - just as earlier in art history once natural-seeming qualities of the lyric or poetic garden probably would seem out-dated and unnatural.
Landscape painting as an independent genre entered Western art slowly. Prior to the Renaissance, landscapes, if displayed at all, were relegated merely to the backgrounds of religious paintings and illuminated manuscripts. As an example, Les Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry (from the early 15th century) is notable for its representation of the changes of the seasons and of people at work and play in a landscape backdrop.
At first pure landscape commissions were not popular because they were seen to serve no particular purpose for the patron. Paintings were considered a luxury and only commissioned for important events such as the commemoration of an important person; for religious purposes to decorate churches and cathedrals, both as an act of worship and to serve as instruction for those who could not read; or later to display personal wealth and status.
But after the Reformation, when religious subject matter was restricted, the Dutch artists who had been proficient at such religious paintings became specialists in the landscape genre, creating landscapes with meticulous realistic detail. Because Dutch painters competed in an open sales market in a republican nation, they found little interest in religious themes. They instead concentrated on scenes from their everyday life that appealed to the tastes of the middle-class buyers. These artists, among whom Pieter Bruegel the Elder is the most noteworthy, created superb landscape scenes. It's interesting to note that these landscapes adhered to conventions developed by the "Dutch school," for example, using tones of brown for the foreground, green for the middle ground, and blue for the background panorama. And in Rome, Dutch artists, led by master Flemish painter Gillis van Coninxloo, began the concept of the ideal landscape.
In Italy in the 16th century, at first Venetian painters such as Giorgione excelled at pastoral vistas that depicted scenes from classical literature. Then artists like Annibale Carracci and Giovanni Bellini created paintings that show a subject matter of pure landscape. The paintings show evidence of the artists' direct observation of nature and show subjects taking pleasure in the great outdoors as if inviting the viewers to do the same.
Landscape painting developed as an independent genre as humanity's interest in and appreciation for nature grew. As a subject of painting, it has changed and developed according to the attitudes and changing circumstances of the people of each time period. Perhaps ultimately landscape painting tells us more about human nature than it does about the great outdoors.
Sources:
Landscape Painting. HighBeam Encyclopedia. 2006. Columbia University Press. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
Michelle de Farra. Development of Landscape Painting in the Italian Renaissance. Retrieved August 1, 2006.
Pieter Brueghel's The Hunters in the Snow
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