Styles & Movements

Landscape

The art of depicting natural scenery in painting has developed in fascinating ways since it first became widely practiced in the 16th century. Perhaps the most dramatic changes have occurred with the advent of abstraction in the 20th century, underpinned by the development of Impressionism in the late 19th century.

Although the literally depicted landscape may not be readily apparent in abstract painting, contemporary painters acknowledge their link to 19th century forebears, even if they don't paint real scenes or vistas. The nature that they celebrate is largely defined by their imagination. Some painters depict a dreamlike landscape with elements of reality, others depict harshly realistic landscapes that include the damaging incursions of humans, others use loosely referential landscape elements in basically abstract paints, and some use a combination of these and other strategies. Eighties painters whose work is connected with landscape painting include Gregory Amenoff, Charles Clough, David Deutsch, Rackstraw Downes, Jane Freilicher, April Gornick, Joan Mitchell, and others.

In addition to painters, contemporary sculptors have engaged the natural landscape, sometimes in works that carry an environmental message. Such artists include Christy Rupp, Robert Lobe, and Scott Burton. And one should mention the example of artists who placed site-specific works in nature, such as Robert Smithson and Michael Heizer.