discuss the changing depictions of painting ‘nature’ during the victorian period. What were some of the reasons for these changes? we receive but what we give / and in our life alone does nature live 1 the depictions of nature in victorian art act as a barometer revealing the changing attitudes to art, religion, science and identity in the nineteenth century. The era begun with an underlying panentheistic view, which is reflected in idyllic pastoral scenes.

It then shifted to a pantheistic understanding in which nature was presented, in highly realistic detail, to express virtuousness. Finally, towards the end of the era art moved away from depicting nature realistically and instead became a space for the artist explore the subjective relationship between the individual and nature. Although broadly evolutionary the different strands of victorian art are not wholly chronologically progressive. These stylistic changes were motivated by the complex changes in society and the understanding of the world that took place over this time.

Although these changes can be seen in a wide range of artistic genres across the nineteenth century, this essay will mostly focus on the changing perceptions of nature as represented in landscape painting. The english fondness for paintings from nature had its antecedents in the work of dutch and flemish painters of the seventeenth century. 2 this generated a tradition of topographically situated, naturalistic rural scenes. Also important in the english landscape tradition are the theatrical landscapes of the western european tradition.

These utilise the natural world as a backdrop for classical ruins, mythological characters and narratives. The production of these painting was orchestrated with conventional features, compositional rules and prescribed methods. 3 english painters at the beginning of the nineteenth century still adhered to these rules generally but began to introduce more personal peculiarities to their practice.

Artists such as david cox moved away from the topographical and narrative to produce a style more reactive to the available stimulus of the english countryside. Cox trained as a theatre scene painter where he learned that the greatest impression could be made by the avoidance of small and obsessive detail. 4 this can be seen in cox’s river scene with boys fishing 5 which depicts a view of a softly romanticised, but believable landscape containing english boys engaged in an everyday activity. A l baldry suggests that cox possessed the frankest sympathy with nature's moods and ever varying suggestions 6 and that his receptivity to direct impressions was responsible for his success. Although artists at this time took their subject matter from studies of nature they selected scenes that negated the realities of a rural existence at that time.

Essay Writing Tips for Year 7

Scenic paintings depicted bucolic idylls with hard working but happy peasants, green pastures and domesticated animals. This style is represented by artists such as thomas sidney cooper, thomas creswick and frederick richard lee. Cooper’s milking time study of a farm yard near canterbury 7 of 1833 4 shows a quaint village complete with a conscientious villager and docile animals. Animals were cooper’s specialty and he collaborated with creswick and lee to add animals to their landscapes. William gilpen, who influenced cooper, declared that the horse was not sufficiently picturesque to be included in a composition. At this time there was massive domestic migration and england was shifting from a rural based to an urban based society. Many of the new art patrons were urban dwelling industrialists who had come from rural backgrounds.

Essay on Nature An Artist Text

Essay Writing Tips for Year 7

How to Write a Physics Lab Report