Human conceptions and representations of landscape Landscape

1 human conceptions , representations of landscape

1.1 landscape gardens
1.2 landscape architecture
1.3 landscape , literature

1.3.1 earliest landscape literature
1.3.2 topographical poetry
1.3.3 romantic era in britain
1.3.4 europe
1.3.5 north america


1.4 asia

1.4.1 china


1.5 landscape art

1.5.1 landscape photography
1.5.2 landscape painting

human conceptions , representations of landscape
landscape gardens

stourhead garden, wiltshire, england



jichang garden in wuxi (1506–1521)

the chinese garden landscape garden style has evolved on 3 thousand years. includes both vast gardens of chinese emperors , members of imperial family, built pleasure , impress, , more intimate gardens created scholars, poets, former government officials, soldiers , merchants, made reflection , escape outside world. create idealized miniature landscape, meant express harmony should exist between man , nature. typical chinese garden enclosed walls , includes 1 or more ponds, scholar s rocks, trees , flowers, , assortment of halls , pavilions within garden, connected winding paths , zig-zag galleries. moving structure structure, visitors can view series of composed scenes, unrolling scroll of landscape paintings.

the english landscape garden, called english landscape park or english garden , style of parkland garden intended though might natural landscape, although may extensively re-arranged. emerged in england in 18th century, , spread across europe, replacing more formal, symmetrical jardin à la française of 17th century principal style large parks , gardens in europe. english garden (and later french landscape garden) presented idealized view of nature. drew inspiration paintings of landscapes claude lorraine , nicolas poussin, , classic chinese gardens of east, had been described european travellers , realized in anglo-chinese garden, , philosophy of jean-jacques rousseau (1712 – 1778).

the english garden included lake, sweeps of gently rolling lawns set against groves of trees, , recreations of classical temples, gothic ruins, bridges, , other picturesque architecture, designed recreate idyllic pastoral landscape. work of lancelot capability brown , humphry repton particularly influential. end of 18th century english garden being imitated french landscape garden, , far away st. petersburg, russia, in pavlovsk, gardens of future emperor paul. had major influence on form of public parks , gardens appeared around world in 19th century.

landscape architecture

central park, new york city, us, designed frederick law olmsted.

landscape architecture multi-disciplinary field, incorporating aspects of botany, horticulture, fine arts, architecture, industrial design, geology , earth sciences, environmental psychology, geography, , ecology. activities of landscape architect can range creation of public parks , parkways site planning campuses , corporate office parks, design of residential estates design of civil infrastructure , management of large wilderness areas or reclamation of degraded landscapes such mines or landfills. landscape architects work on types of structures , external space – large or small, urban, suburban , rural, , hard (built) , soft (planted) materials, while paying attention ecological sustainability.

for period before 1800, history of landscape gardening (later called landscape architecture) largely of master planning , garden design manor houses, palaces , royal properties, religious complexes, , centers of government. example extensive work andré le nôtre @ vaux-le-vicomte , @ palace of versailles king louis xiv of france. first person write of making landscape joseph addison in 1712. term landscape architecture invented gilbert laing meason in 1828 , first used professional title frederick law olmsted in 1863. during latter 19th century, term landscape architect became used professional people designed landscapes. frederick law olmsted used term landscape architecture profession first time when designing central park, new york city, us. here combination of traditional landscape gardening , emerging field of city planning gave landscape architecture unique focus. use of term landscape architect became established after frederick law olmsted, jr. , others founded american society of landscape architects (asla) in 1899.

landscape , literature

the earliest landscape literature

the djabugay language group s mythical being, damarri, transformed mountain range, seen lying on above barron river gorge, looking upwards skies, within north-east australia s wet tropical forested landscape

possibly earliest landscape literature found in australian aboriginal myths (also known dreamtime or dreaming stories, songlines, or aboriginal oral literature), stories traditionally performed aboriginal peoples within each of language groups across australia. such myths variously tell significant truths within each aboriginal group s local landscape. layer whole of australian continent s topography cultural nuance , deeper meaning, , empower selected audiences accumulated wisdom , knowledge of australian aboriginal ancestors time immemorial.

in west pastoral poetry represent earliest form of landscape literature, though literary genre presents idealized landscape peopled shepherds , shepherdesses, , creates image of peaceful uncorrupted existence; kind of prelapsarian world . pastoral has origins in works of greek poet theocritus (c. 316 - c. 260 bc). romantic period poet william wordsworth created modern, more realistic form of pastoral michael, pastoral poem (1800).

an form of landscape poetry, shanshui poetry, developed in china during third , fourth centuries a.d.

the vale of blackmore, main setting thomas hardy s novel tess of d urbervilles. hambledon hill towards stourton tower


topographical poetry

topographical poetry genre of poetry describes, , praises, landscape or place. john denham s 1642 poem cooper s hill established genre, peaked in popularity in 18th-century england. examples of topographical verse date, however, late classical period, , can found throughout medieval era , during renaissance. though earliest examples come continental europe, topographical poetry in tradition originating denham concerns classics, , many of various types of topographical verse, such river, ruin, or hilltop poems established 17th century. alexander pope s windsor forest (1713) , john dyer s grongar hill (1762) 2 other familiar examples. george crabbe, suffolk regional poet, wrote topographical poems, did william wordsworth, of lines written few miles above tintern abbey obvious example. more recently, matthew arnold s scholar gipsy (1853) praises oxfordshire countryside, , w. h. auden s in praise of limestone (1948) uses limestone landscape allegory.

subgenres of topographical poetry include country house poem, written in 17th-century england compliment wealthy patron, , prospect poem, describing view distance or temporal view future, sense of opportunity or expectation. when understood broadly landscape poetry , when assessed establishment present, topographical poetry can take on many formal situations , types of places. kenneth baker, in introduction faber book of landscape poetry, identifies 37 varieties , compiles poems 16th through 20th centuries—from edmund spenser sylvia plath—correspondent each type, walks , surveys, mountains, hills, , view above, violation of nature , landscape, spirits , ghosts.

common aesthetic registers of topographical poetry makes use include pastoral imagery, sublime, , picturesque, include images of rivers, ruins, moonlight, birdsong, , clouds, peasants, mountains, caves, , waterscapes.

though describing landscape or scenery, topographical poetry often, @ least implicitly, addresses political issue or meaning of nationality in way. description of landscape therefore becomes poetic vehicle political message. example, in john denham s cooper s hill, speaker discusses merits of executed charles i.

the romantic era in britain





from prelude (1805), book 13, lines 41-51.

by william wordsworth

one important aspect of british romanticism – evident in painting , literature in politics , philosophy – change in way people perceived , valued landscape. in particular, after william gilpin s observations on river wye published in 1770, idea of picturesque began influence artists , viewers. gilpin advocated approaching landscape rules of picturesque beauty, emphasized contrast , variety. edmund burke s philosophical enquiry origin of our ideas of sublime , beautiful (1757) influential text, longinus on sublime (early a.d., greece), translated english french in 1739. 18th century, taste sublime in natural landscape emerged alongside idea of sublime in language; elevated rhetoric or speech. topographical poem influenced romantics, james thomson s seasons (1726–30). changing landscape, brought industrial , agricultural revolutions, expansion of city , depopulation of countryside, influences on growth of romantic movement in britain. poor condition of workers, new class conflicts, , pollution of environment led reaction against urbanism , industrialisation , new emphasis on beauty , value of nature , landscape. however, revolt against aristocratic social , political norms of age of enlightenment, reaction against scientific rationalisation of nature.

the poet william wordsworth major contributor literature of landscape, contemporary poet , novelist walter scott. scott s influence felt throughout europe, on major victorian novelists in britain, such emily bronte, mrs gaskell, george eliot, , thomas hardy, john cowper powys in 20th-century. margaret drabble in writer s britain suggests thomas hardy perhaps greatest writer of rural life , landscape in english.

europe

among european writers influenced scott frenchmen honoré de balzac , alexandre dumas , italian alessandro manzoni. manzoni s famous novel betrothed inspired walter scott s ivanhoe.

north america

also influenced romanticism s approach landscape american novelist fenimore cooper, admired victor hugo , balzac , characterized american scott.

asia
china

landscape in chinese poetry has been closely tied chinese landscape painting, developed earlier in west. many poems evoke specific paintings, , written in more empty areas of scroll itself. many painters wrote poetry, in scholar-official or literati tradition. landscape images present in shijing , chuci, in later poetry emphasis changed, in painting]] shan shui (chinese: 山水 lit. mountain-water ) style featuring wild mountains, rivers , lakes, rather landscape setting human presence. shanshui poetry traditional chinese: 山水詩; simplified chinese: 山水诗 developed in china during third , fourth centuries ad , left of varied landscapes of china largely unrepresented. shan shui painting , poetry shows imaginary landscapes, though features typical of parts of south china; remain popular present day.

fields , gardens poetry (simplified chinese: 田园诗; traditional chinese: 田園詩; pinyin: tiányuán shī; wade–giles: t ien-yuan-shih; literally: fields , gardens poetry ), in poetry) contrasting poetic movement lasted centuries, focused on nature found in gardens, in backyards, , in cultivated countryside. fields , gardens poetry 1 of many classical chinese poetry genres. 1 of main practitioners of fields , gardens poetry genre tao yuanming (also known tao qian (365–427), among other names or versions of names). tao yuanming has been regarded first great poet associated fields , gardens poetry genre.

landscape art
landscape photography


the tetons , snake river (1942) photograph ansel adams

many landscape photographs show little or no human activity , created in pursuit of pure, unsullied depiction of nature devoid of human influence, instead featuring subjects such defined landforms, weather, , ambient light. forms of art, definition of landscape photograph broad, , may include urban settings, industrial areas, , nature photography. notable landscape photographers include ansel adams, galen rowell, edward weston, ben heine, mark gray , fred judge.

landscape painting


salomon van ruisdael, view of deventer (1657).

the earliest forms of art around world depict little called landscape, although ground-lines , indications of mountains, trees or other natural features included. earliest pure landscapes no human figures frescos minoan greece of around 1500 bce. hunting scenes, set in enclosed vista of reed beds of nile delta ancient egypt, can give strong sense of place, emphasis on individual plant forms , human , animal figures rather overall landscape setting. coherent depiction of whole landscape, rough system of perspective, or scaling distance, needed, , seems literary evidence have first been developed in ancient greece in hellenistic period, although no large-scale examples survive. more ancient roman landscapes survive, 1st century bce onwards, frescos of landscapes decorating rooms have been preserved @ archaeological sites of pompeii, herculaneum , elsewhere, , mosaics.

the chinese ink painting tradition of shan shui ( mountain-water ), or pure landscape, in sign of human life sage, or glimpse of hut, uses sophisticated landscape backgrounds figure subjects, , landscape art of period retains classic , much-imitated status within chinese tradition.

both roman , chinese traditions typically show grand panoramas of imaginary landscapes, backed range of spectacular mountains – in china waterfalls , in rome including sea, lakes or rivers. these used bridge gap between foreground scene figures , distant panoramic vista, persistent problem landscape artists.

a major contrast between landscape painting in west , east asia has been while in west until 19th century occupied low position in accepted hierarchy of genres, in east asia classic chinese mountain-water ink painting traditionally prestigious form of visual art. however, in west, history painting came require extensive landscape background appropriate, theory did not entirely work against development of landscape painting – several centuries landscapes regularly promoted status of history painting addition of small figures make narrative scene, typically religious or mythological.

dutch golden age painting of 17th century saw dramatic growth of landscape painting, in many artists specialized, , development of extremely subtle realist techniques depicting light , weather. popularity of landscapes in netherlands in part reflection of virtual disappearance of religious painting in calvinist society, , decline of religious painting in 18th , 19th centuries on europe combined romanticism give landscapes greater , more prestigious place in 19th-century art had assumed before.

in england, landscapes had been backgrounds portraits, typically suggesting parks or estates of landowner, though painted in london artist had never visited site. english tradition founded anthony van dyck , other, flemish, artists working in england. beginning of 19th century english artists highest modern reputations dedicated landscapists, showing wide range of romantic interpretations of english landscape found in works of john constable, j.m.w. turner , samuel palmer. these had difficulty establishing in contemporary art market, still preferred history paintings , portraits.

thomas cole course of empire arcadian or pastoral state , us, 1836.

in europe, john ruskin said, , sir kenneth clark confirmed, landscape painting chief artistic creation of nineteenth century , , dominant art , result in following period people apt assume appreciation of natural beauty , painting of landscape normal , enduring part of our spiritual activity

the romantic movement intensified existing interest in landscape art, , remote , wild landscapes, had been 1 recurring element in earlier landscape art, became more prominent. german caspar david friedrich had distinctive style, influenced danish training. added quasi-mystical romanticism. french painters slower develop landscape painting, 1830s jean-baptiste-camille corot , other painters in barbizon school established french landscape tradition become influential in europe century, impressionists , post-impressionists first time making landscape painting main source of general stylistic innovation across types of painting.

in united states, hudson river school, prominent in middle late 19th century, best-known native development in landscape art. these painters created works of mammoth scale attempted capture epic scope of landscapes inspired them. work of thomas cole, school s acknowledged founder, has in common philosophical ideals of european landscape paintings — kind of secular faith in spiritual benefits gained contemplation of natural beauty. of later hudson river school artists, such albert bierstadt, created less comforting works placed greater emphasis (with great deal of romantic exaggeration) on raw, terrifying power of nature. best examples of canadian landscape art can found in works of group of seven, prominent in 1920s. emily carr closely associated group of seven, though never official member. although less dominant in period after world war i, many significant artists still painted landscapes in wide variety of styles exemplified neil welliver, alex katz, milton avery, peter doig, andrew wyeth, david hockney , sidney nolan.

the term neo-romanticism applied in british art history, loosely affiliated school of landscape painting emerged around 1930 , continued until 1950s. these painters looked 19th-century artists such william blake , samuel palmer, influenced french cubist , post-cubist artists such pablo picasso, andré masson, , pavel tchelitchew (clark , clarke 2001; hopkins 2001). movement motivated in part response threat of invasion during world war ii. artists particularly associated initiation of movement included paul nash, john piper, henry moore, ivon hitchens, , graham sutherland. younger generation included john minton, michael ayrton, john craxton, keith vaughan, robert colquhoun, , robert macbryde (button 1996).