laborious effort rather than flights of genius (Wrigley, 1993, 299–301). Such “naturalism” was often
associated with northern European (principally Dutch and Flemish) approaches to the genre.
An arcadian or idealizing tradition of landscapes in oils grew in status from the midcentury, aided by
the liberal arts emphasis of many academies, and the genre’s association with literary, historical and
poetic themes and sensibilities, developed by artists who had visited Rome. Joseph Mallord William
Turner (1775–1851) often represented both specific (topographical) sites and classicized landscapes by
reference to literary or historical themes intended to provoke meditation or scholarly reflection.
Picturesque and sublime landscape art incorporated increasingly “romantic” sentiment, symbolism, and
literary and classical references more commonly associated with the history genre. Landscape was also
commonly “elevated” by its conflation with high society portraits. By the end of the century the landscape
view came to be valued in its own right and Turner’s approach to the genre ensured that it became
associated with imaginative creativity rather than being seen as limited by convention or the simple need
to record visually an actual site. By this time developments in landscape aesthetics more broadly also
ensured that painted “views” of all kinds enjoyed greater status.
Dutch and Flemish artists of the preceding century, such as Jacob van Ruisdael (1628/1629–1682),
provided important models for more naturalistic styles. Grand historical, idealized or “poetic” or
arcadian landscapes in the Italian tradition had been established in the seventeenth century as a European
paradigm by the French artist Claude Lorrain, whose diverse influences included Agostino Tassi
(c.1580–1644), northern artists such as Adam Elsheimer (1578–1610), Paul and Matheus Brill (1554–
1626 and 1550–1583) and the idealizing style of Poussin, who had been influenced in turn by the Italian
artists, Titian and Annibale Carracci. The two landscape traditions of “naturalism” and “idealism” are
sometimes defined in opposition to each other and it is true that the former focused much less than the
latter on fantasy or literary inspiration. However, “naturalistic” landscapes in the Dutch and Flemish
tradition often relied on repetition of the representations of natural motifs (trees, skies) by previous
artists, rather than on direct observation: such paintings remained imaginative constructs. A number of
landscape compositional “templates” (e.g.for waterfall views, coastal scenes, farmland or woodland
views) were in frequent circulation for artists working in the northern “realist” tradition as well as for
those working on “poetical” compositions.
Prior to the eighteenth century, some landscape artists had taken their sketchbooks out into the countryside
in order to observe nature at first hand. Most had then finished their works in the studio and it remained
relatively uncommon until the mid1740s to work more substantially outdoors, from nature, except when
recording specific views for travel guides, topographical studies, tourists or specific patrons. Artists
studying in Rome, such as Fragonard and Hubert Robert, were among those most likely to paint and draw
directly from nature, from observation of the classical sites they observed. The situation changed toward
the end of the eighteenth century as it became more fashionable for both professional and amateur artists
at all levels of society to visit and sketch rural views. It was also a question of materials. While chalk and
ink sketches had been practical for outdoor sketches prior to the eighteenth century, and some eighteenth
century artists, for example, Watteau, AlexandreFrançois Desportes (1661–1743) and PierreHenri de
Valenciennes (1750–1819), did oil sketches, oil paint as it was at the time mixed and stored was heavy as
well as slowdrying. Later in the century readymixed watercolor paints, more portable and quick
drying, became more accessible. One of the significant changes as the nineteenth century began was a
greater public interest in and critical acceptance of finished works in watercolor, as well as a continuing
interest in watercolor sketching for private viewing; for example, in bound albums.
At the beginning of the eighteenth century, landscape paintings were appreciated mainly as decoration.
These were normally in the Italian tradition as assimilated by (Nicolas) Poussin and Claude, and were