Since time immemorial, people have always admired nature. They expressed their love, depicting it in all kinds of mosaics, bas-reliefs and paintings. Many great artists have dedicated their work to painting landscapes. The paintings, which depict forests, the sea, mountains, rivers, fields, are truly mesmerizing. And you need to respect the great masters who so detailed, colorful and emotionally conveyed in their works all the beauty and power of the world around us. It is landscape painters and their biographies that will be considered in this article. Today we will talk about the work of great painters of different times.
Famous landscape painters of the 17th century
In the XVII century there were many talented people who preferred to portray the beauty of nature. Some of the most famous are Claude Lorren and Jacob Isaac van Rijsdal. With them we will begin our story.
Claude Lorren
The French artist Claude Lorren is considered the founder of the landscape of the period of classicism. His canvases are distinguished by incredible harmony and perfect composition. A distinctive feature of the technology of K. Lorren was the ability to perfectly transmit sunlight, its rays, reflection in water, etc.
Despite the fact that the maestro was born in France, he spent most of his life in Italy, where he left when he was only 13 years old. He returned to his homeland only once, and then for two years.
The most famous works of K. Lorren are the paintings “View of the Roman Forum” and “View of the port with the Capitol”. Nowadays they can be seen in the Louvre.
Jacob Isaac van Reisdal
Jacob van Reisdal - a representative of realism - was born in Holland. During his travels in the Netherlands and Germany, the artist wrote many noteworthy works, which are characterized by a sharp contrast of tones, dramatic colors and coldness. One of the striking examples of such paintings can be considered the "European Cemetery".
However, the artist’s work was not limited to gloomy canvases - he also depicted rural landscapes. The most famous works are considered to be “View of the village of Egmond” and “Landscape with a water mill”.
XVIII century
The painting of the 18th century is characterized by many interesting features; during this period, the foundation was laid for new directions in the mentioned art form. Venetian landscape painters, for example, worked in such areas as a specific landscape (another name is vedutny) and architectural (or urban). And the veiled landscape, in turn, was subdivided into precise and fantastic. A prominent representative of the fantastic Vedut is Francesco Guardi. Even modern landscape painters can envy his fantasies and performance techniques.
Francesco Guardi
Without exception, his work is distinguished by an impeccably accurate perspective, remarkable color reproduction. Landscapes have a certain magical appeal, it is simply impossible to take their eyes off them.
His most delightful works include the paintings “Doge's Festive Ship“ Buchintoro ”,“ Gondola in the Lagoon ”,“ Venetian Courtyard ”and“ Rio dei Mendicanti ”. All his paintings depict the views of Venice.
William Turner
This artist is a representative of romanticism.
A distinctive feature of his paintings is the use of many shades of yellow. It was the yellow palette that became the main one in his works. The master explained this by the fact that such shades were associated with the sun and the purity that he wanted to see in his paintings.
Turner's most beautiful and mesmerizing work is the Hesperides Garden - a fantastic landscape.
Ivan Aivazovsky and Ivan Shishkin
These two people are truly the greatest and most famous landscape painters of Russia. The first - Ivan Konstantinovich Aivazovsky - depicted the majestic sea in his paintings. A riot of elements, surging waves, splashes of foam crashing on the side of a banked ship, or a quiet, serene expanse illuminated by the setting sun - the sea landscapes delight and amaze with their naturalness and beauty. By the way, such landscape painters are called marinists. The second - Ivan Ivanovich Shishkin - loved to depict the forest.
Both Shishkin and Aivazovsky are landscape painters of the 19th century. Let us dwell on the biography of these personalities in more detail.
In 1817, Ivan Aivazovsky, one of the most famous marine painters, was born.
He was born in a wealthy family, his father was an Armenian entrepreneur. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the future maestro had a weakness for the sea elements. After all, Feodosia, the most beautiful port city, became the birthplace of this artist.
In 1839, Ivan graduated from the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, in which he studied for six years. The artist’s style was greatly influenced by the work of the French marine painters C. Vernet and C. Lorren, who painted their paintings according to the canons of Baroque classicism. The most famous work of I.K. Aivazovsky is considered the painting "The Ninth Wave", made in 1850.
In addition to seascapes, the great artist worked on portrayal of battle scenes (a vivid example is the painting “Chesme Battle”, 1848), and also devoted many of his canvases to the themes of Armenian history (“Visit by G. G. Byron of the Mkhitarists Monastery near Venice”, 1880 g.).
Aivazovsky was lucky to achieve incredible fame during his lifetime. Many landscape painters who became famous in the future admired his work and took an example from him. The great creator passed away in 1990.
Shishkin Ivan Ivanovich was born in January 1832 in the city of Elabug. The family in which Vanya was brought up was not very prosperous (his father was a poor merchant). In 1852, Shishkin began his studies at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, of which he would graduate in four years, in 1856. Even the earliest works of Ivan Ivanovich are of extraordinary beauty and unsurpassed technique. Therefore, it is not surprising that in 1865 I. I. Shishkin was given the title of academician for the painting “View in the vicinity of Dusseldorf”. And after eight years, he receives the title of professor.
Like many other landscape painters, Shishkin painted from nature, spending a long time in nature, in places where no one could disturb him.
The most famous canvases of the great painter are “Wilderness” and “Morning in a pine forest”, written in 1872, and the earlier painting “Noon. In the vicinity of Moscow ”(1869)
The life of a talented person was interrupted in the spring of 1898.
Many Russian landscape painters use a lot of details and colorful color reproduction when writing their canvases. The same can be said about these two representatives of Russian painting.
Alexey Savrasov
Alexey Kondratievich Savrasov is a world-famous landscape painter. It is he who is considered the founder of the Russian lyrical landscape.
This outstanding man was born in Moscow in 1830. Since 1844, Alexei began his studies at the Moscow School of Painting and Sculpture. From his youth, he was distinguished by his special talent and ability to depict landscapes. However, despite this, for family reasons, the young man was forced to interrupt his education and resume it only after four years.
The most famous and beloved work of Savrasov is, of course, the painting "Rooks Have Arrived." It was presented at the Traveling Exhibition in 1971. No less interesting are the paintings of I. K. Savrasov “Rye”, “Thaw”, “Winter”, “Country Road”, “Rainbow”, “Elk Island”. However, according to critics, not one of the artist’s works was compared with his masterpiece Rooks Have Arrived.
Despite the fact that Savrasov painted many beautiful paintings and was already known as the author of wonderful paintings, they soon forget about him for a long time. And in 1897 he died in poverty, driven to desperation by family troubles, the death of children and alcohol addiction.
But the great landscape painters cannot be forgotten. They live in their paintings, the charm of which is breathtaking, and which to this day we can admire.
The second half of the nineteenth century
This period is characterized by the prevalence in Russian painting of such a direction as the domestic landscape. Many Russian landscape painters worked in this direction, including Makovsky Vladimir Egorovich. No less famous masters of those times are Vasily Polenov, Arseniy Meshchersky, as well as the previously described Aivazovsky and Shishkin, whose work fell in the middle or second half of the 19th century.
Arseny Meshchersky
This famous artist was born in 1834 in the Tver province. He received his education at the Imperial Academy of Arts, where he studied for three years. The main themes of the author’s paintings were forest and winter landscapes. The artist was very fond of depicting in his paintings magnificent views of the Crimea and the Caucasus with their majestic mountains. In 1876 he received the title of professor of landscape painting.
The most successful and famous of his canvases can be considered paintings "Winter. Icebreaker ”,“ View of Geneva ”,“ Storm in the Alps ”,“ Near a forest lake ”,“ Southern landscape ”,“ View in Crimea ”.
In addition to Russian nature, Meshchersky also conveyed the beauties of Switzerland. In this country, he gained experience with the master of landscape painting Kalam for some time.
And the master was fond of sepia and engraving. In these techniques, he also created many wonderful works.
Many of the paintings of the artist in question were shown at exhibitions both in Russia and in other countries of the world. Therefore, many people managed to appreciate the talent and originality of this creative person. Arseny Meshchersky’s paintings continue to please many people who are fond of art to this day.
Makovsky Vladimir Egorovich
Makovsky V.E. was born in Moscow in 1846. His father was a famous artist. Vladimir decided to follow in his father's footsteps and received his art education at the Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture, after which he left for Petersburg.
His most successful paintings were “Expectation. At the prison ”,“ Bank collapse ”,“ Explanation ”,“ Bed-house ”and“ Spring Bacchanalia ”. The works mainly depict ordinary people and everyday scenes.
In addition to everyday landscapes, the master of which he was, Makovsky also painted portraits and various illustrations.