Introduction to

Landscapes

Landscape: An artwork depicting an area of land. Although natural elements are often the central focus, landscapes can also include buildings, people, and animals. 

Elements of Landscapes

Line, Texture, Color, Scale 

Foreground: The objects or subjects closest to the viewer.

Midground: The objects or subjects in between the foreground and background. 

Background: The objects or subjects farthest from the viewer.

From Foreground to Background in Oil Painting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gphHelLsuw4

J. M. W. Turner

English, Born 1775. Known for being one of the first artists to push abstraction and add political elements. 

Work 1:  Valley of Aosta

Work 2: The Fighting Temeraire

Work 3: Snow Storm: Steam-Boat off a Harbour’s Mouth

(Sources linked to artwork names)

How does this painting create a sense of awe?

Ando Hiroshige 

Japanese, Born 1797. Best known for scenes of nature and urban life with extensive use of bokashi (color gradiation). 

Work 1:  Plum Park in Kameido

Work 2: The Shopping Street Suruga-cho

Work 3: Naruto Whirlpools

Work 4: Sudden Shower Over Shin-Ohashi Bridge and Atake

(Sources linked to artwork names)

What is the middle ground in this print? What does that do to the forground/ background?

David Hockney 

British, Born, 1937. Known for a variety of styles and materials, known for landscapes made out of photocollages called “joiners.”

Work 1:  Untitled

Work 2: Pearblossom Highway #2

Work 3: Sunday Morning, Mayflower Hotel, N.Y

Work 4: Untitled

(Sources linked to artwork names)

How does this technique create feelings of time and space?

Cubism 

Julie Mehretu 

Ethiopian, Born 1970. Uses dense abstract lines that create space in a way that conveys a foreground, middleground and background.

Work 1: Stadia 1

Work 2: Stadia 2 

Work 3: Looking Back to a Bright New Future

(Sources linked to artwork names)

What creates a sense of space in this painting?

Drawing Exercise:

First, find an image on your phone or on Google of a place that is meaningful to you. 

Think about Composition

Identify a foreground, middle ground and background. Identify what areas/ subjects should be lighter or darker. 

Draw

Take 10 minutes to draw a landscape of that place using a pen, pencil or other utensil. Afterwards you will have the opportunity to share the landscape with the group.

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