Historic vs Contemporary Landscape Artists 1

Jade Tidswell 517037

A landscape artist is an artist who composes a piece of work that includes natural scenery such as

rivers, mountains trees etc. There are two types of landscape artists; historic (before our lifetime)

and contemporary. I’m choosing to investigate both and compare the differences.

Claude Monet

Monet was a founder of French

impressionist painting expressing his

perception before nature including

plein-air landscape paintings. I have

chosen to look at three paintings in

particular:

• “Argenteuil, Seen from the Small Arm

of the Seinei”

• “Coastal Road at Cap Martin Near

Mentonii”

• “The Thames below Westminsteriii”

I chose these paintings because I liked

the styles of each one. They are all

slightly different, with a limited palette

and impressionist style.

The Argenteuil painting is very much like

the area in which I live with the fields,

river and townscape in the background.

The clouds in the sky also represent a

similar style to that of my own. I liked

the church in the background too, it

looks like it is just resting on the golden

section which is probably why it is so

prominent in this painting.

The Thames painting is completely

different to the Argenteuil one. The

palette is extremely limited, and it looks

like it could almost be foggy in this

picture. What I liked about this painting

is that the background is incredibly

misty. This is something I, personally,

would like to practice in my own work.

This painting seems to be more

impressionistic than the Argenteuil.

The Menton painting is almost a mix of

the two above. It has a similar misty sky

and background as the Thames one and

the beautiful colour of detail in the

foreground like the Argenteuil painting. I

Monet, Oil on Canvas 1872

Argenteuil, Seen from the Small Arm of the Seine

Monet, Oil on Canvas, 1884

Coastal Road at Cap Martin Near

Menton

Monet, Oil on Canvas 1871

The Thames below Westminster

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would have preferred the sky to have a few fluffier clouds.

Monet was best known for his outdoor paintings, especially the lilies ones. He tended to go back to

the same spot and paint in different lights, weathers and positions. I really like his style and would

love to adopt some of his impressionism within my own work, not getting hung up on detail.

Paul Cézanne

Cézanne is more known to me as a still life

artist, it wasn’t until the early 1870’s, when

he worked with Camille Pissarro in the open

air, that his style changed. He turned to

landscapes, taking on the impressionists’

brighter colours and broken brushwork

compared to that of his earlier works; using

dark, heavy colours with a palette knife.

Through the next decade or so Cézanne’s

use of paint became more ordered and

systematic.

This can be seen in “The Riaux Valley near

L'Estaqueiv”. Almost all the brushstrokes in

this painting are parallel to each other. I like

the colours in this painting and the subject of

one single building on a hill. It is also a very

different style of impressionism to Monet

because of the structure.

This same technique can be seen in his earlier

painting “Maisons au bord d'une routev”.

These brushstrokes are slightly freer than the

valley painting which suggests that once he

was confident in his technique he tested out

different styles. I prefer this painting for its

lack of structure as it looks more natural. The

colours are also stronger and slightly darker

suggesting this could be a late afternoon

painting.

It might be quite good to test out different brush stroke/ mark making techniques when drawing my

own landscapes. I will try to incorporate this.

Cézanne, Oil on Canvas 1883

The Houses in Provence:

The Riaux Valley near L'Estaque

Cézanne, Oil on Canvas 1881

Maisons au bord d'une route

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David Hockney

Hockney is considered one of the “most influential

British artists of the 20th centuryvi”. He was

considered a big influence on the pop art culture in

the 1960’s. The bold, bright colours are his idea of

supporting sexual freedom. Not only this, Hockney

was apparently obsessed with cubism.

The painting on the leftvii portrays a cold, snowy day.

Despite this, the colours of the trees and bushes are

Hockney’s signature bold, expressive style. I do like

his use of colour and simplistic style. Recently, Hockney has been known to even use an app on his

phone to make quick sketches on the go. They look fabulous and I’d like to have a go!

Peter Doig

Doig layers his landscapes, infusing traditional methods with his figurative style and magical realism.

This can be seen clearly in the painting on the leftviii.

There is a limited palette, but the colours used are

very vibrant with a great contrast.

I like that this one has a night sky which is reflected in

the river. Although the trees and bushes look realistic,

there is a magical atmosphere.

This painting is composed with oils; however, it has a

print-like quality to it with blocks of colour like

Hockney. Instead of the usual misty background like

many of his predecessors, this painting has a night sky

which is completely different and unusual. It would be

interesting to try this.

Doig’s earlier painting of the cabinix is very different to

the riviere. It is a lot darker, more impressionistic and

less magical. I like the trees in this painting as well as

the viewpoint. It looks like you are peeking through

the trees or coming back from a walk. Very endearing.

I prefer the brushstrokes in this painting compared to

the riviere.

John Virtue

I really like Virtue’s studies. They are a fine line between abstraction and figuration. Apparently,

Virtue admired Turner and Constable, and this can be seen influencing his work. He works only in

black and white on canvas, using white acrylic paint, black ink and shellac.

Hockney, Oil on Canvas 2006

Winter Tunnel with Snow

Doig, Oil on Canvas 2001-2 Grand Riviere

Doig, Oil on Canvas 1994 Concrete Cabin

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I absolutely love his work. The simplicity of his

monochrome palette is very endearing. His

Norfolk paintingsx are very beautiful and I like

the softness of the medium used. They are

perhaps more impressionist than his earlier

works like no. 664xi. I prefer the landscapes with

buildings as there is more to look at and try to

decipher.

Compared to Hockney’s impressionist paintings,

these are vaguer and obviously involve less

colour. The brush strokes are very blocky like

Hockney. I think the black and white also give a

slightly mystical feel, like that of Doig’s paintings.

Another contemporary artist who is very similar

to Virtue in an impressionistic and mixed media

sense is Nicholas Herbert.

Nicholas Herbert

Herbert is a mixed media artist, his is a process of

“mark-making, sedimentation of material, textural

surface layering and adapted monochromesxii.”

Herbert incorporates this mixed media and

emotion into his paintings. I like what he has done.

I’ve always found it hard to mix media but would

like to try it.

His palette is one of organic, neutral, and ‘unpretty’

pigments. He also likes to keep to mediums

including gouache, pencil, acrylics and chalks as

well as many more.

Both paintings above have kept to Herbert’s usual

limited, dark palette. The mountainxiii painting

incorporates more blue tones whereas Landscape

L890 incorporates more browns. Throughout his

compositions he does tend to stick to a series of

the same tones with his mixed media.

I like his paintings a lot, even though I’d prefer

more pastel colours if I was to hang one up in my

house, his impressionism is very simple yet

pleasing to the eye. I find them quite interesting to

Virtue, Acrylic on Canvas

2009, Norfolk no. 2

Virtue, Acrylic on Canvas

2003, Landscape no. 664

Herbert, Mixed media on paper, 2015

Landscape L890

Herbert, Mixed media on paper, 2017

Landscape L1063

Amalfi Series, The Lattari Mountains

Looking Towards the Bay of Salerno

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try and figure out what is incorporated within these paintings.

Amanda Hoskin

Hoskin focuses on painting

skies in her landscapes

paying close attention to

detail of light especially

when water is involved as

you can see in the painting

on the leftxiv. I’ve noticed

that she focuses more on

nature and see sides like the

paintings on the leftxv.

I really like the way she

paints the beautiful foliage

and nature - the colours are bright, yet natural. There is a lot of

charm and movement in her paintings and I like the faded

backgrounds that add depth. These paintings are also very

impressionistic which adds to the charm and natural aspect. They

almost remind me a tad of Monet and his Lillie paintings in the

palette and brush strokes.

i https://www.claudemonetgallery.org/Argenteuil-Seen-From-The-Small-Arm-Of-The-Seine-2.html ii https://www.claudemonetgallery.org/Coastal-Road-At-Cap-Martin-Near-Menton.html iii https://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/paintings/claude-monet-the-thames-below-westminster iv https://www.nga.gov/features/slideshows/paul-cezanne.html#slide_3 v www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/cezanne/land/cezanne.bord-route.jpg vi https://www.bing.com/search?q=david+hockney+landscapes&FORM=HDRSC1 vii https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/jan/16/david-hockney-landscapes viii https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/10216288/Peter-Doig-interview-the-triumph-of-painting.html ix http://www.saatchigallery.com/artists/artpages/doig_concrete_cabin.htm x http://www.marlboroughlondon.com/artists/john-virtue/ xi http://www.gac.culture.gov.uk/work.aspx?obj=32190 xii http://nicholasherbert-drawings.co.uk/about.html xiii https://nicholasherbert.wordpress.com/ xiv https://www.redraggallery.co.uk/showInventory.asp?iId=16310&title=Abstract Colours, Dodman, Cornwall&artist=Amanda HOSKIN xv https://www.redraggallery.co.uk/showInventory.asp?iId=16306&title=Summer Fields, Lankelly Lane, Cornwall&artist=Amanda HOSKIN

Hoskin, Oil

Abstract Colours, Dodman, Cornwall

Hoskin, Oil

Summer Fields, Lankelly

Lane, Cornwall