The development of landscape art

Here's #2 in my posts about plans for future content - this time it's about the development of landscape art

Stour Valley and Dedham Church c.1815 by John Constable

oil on canvas, 55.6 x 77.8 cm (21 7/8 x 30 5/8 in.)

Museum of Fine Arts Boston

My initial thoughts are set out in the list which follows. The idea is to be able to start by asking what a landscape is, work through different ways in which landscapes have been portrayed - and the reasons why - and finish up with an idea of how relevant landscape art is in today's contemporary culture. This will obviously link into yesterday's post - Landscape Art - A Timeline in Art History

The development of landscape art - topics:

• What is a landscape?
  
• The development of Landscape Art
• the beginnings of landscape art
  
• the contrast between east and west
• the role of illuminated manuscripts
• landscape as background
• landscape through the window
• landscape as panorama
• landscapes for pleasure
• landscapes as records of exploration
• landscapes through the seasons
  
• the sublime landscape
• the picturesque landscape
  
• landscapes as 'bling' - commissions for the landed gentry
  
• landscapes for the Grand Tour and tourists
• landscapes as records of battles and wars
  
• The role of the figure in the landscape / staffage
  
• Paint - the development of watercolour landscapes
• Paint - from bladders to tubes: the impact on plein air painting
  
• The development of plein air painting
• Barbizon School
• Impressionists
• The Macchiaioli
  
• Landscape art and artists' colonies
• The development of regional art
• Landscape Art - the status of the genre (past and present)

The Art of the Landscape Project - how you can participate

I very much welcome

• input from readers as to whether there are other aspects which need to be considered.
  
• Plus your comments on my suggested topics are also most welcome.

If you wish to collaborate - the way I'm hoping this project will work will be that some project participants will work up topics on their own blogs and then these will be referenced by this blog.

Like yesterday's post, this post will be a reference post and act as an index. It will then be updated with links to the relevant posts as they are posted and/or the index is revised.
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In the next post I'm going to start considering topics which consider the landscape in terms of particular places where it thrived - and why that was.