He produced some works representing his native Welsh landscape, such as his Claudeinspired
Snowdon from Llyn Nantle, but also spent several years studying and working in Italy (Figure 2.14).
Interest in classical, “poetic” landscapes continued to the 1790s; for example, in the works of
Valenciennes, inspired by Claude and Poussin (Conisbee, 1981, 193). Like Claude, Valenciennes did
some excellent direct studies from nature, but it was well into the nineteenth century before such studies
or sketches acquired in their own right the status of works of art that might be exhibited in public.
Figure 2.14 Richard Wilson: Lake Nemi and Genzano from the Terrace of the Capuchin Monastery, oil
on canvas, 42.9 × 53.7 cm, c. 1756–1757. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Gift of George A. Hearn,
1905, Acc. No.: 05.32.3.
Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, www.metmuseum.orgMany eighteenthcentury landscape artists worked on idealized or fantasy scenes while developing other
approaches aiming at more naturalistic effects. Fragonard’s fantasy landscapes were produced alongside
others in a more northern, realist style. Loutherbourg produced earthy, naturalistic scenes as well as his
more fantastic pastorals or theatrical creations. Toward the end of the century, the work of landscape
artists such as Georges Michel (1763–1843) was indebted to the naturalistic effects valued in the Dutch
tradition. And yet it remained rare for fine artists to rely solely on firsthand observation of nature. Even