Landscape Painting References: June 2008

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Cabanel

Albayde, (gb detail modif.)

This is a detail from a portrait by Cabanel, not a landscape painting,
but I love the mysterious, exotic view in the background. I didn't like the drugged-out

look of the figure's eyes, so I changed them with photoshop to give a meditative expression.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Monet

Matin Brumeux, debacle (breaking up of ice)

Pointe de l'Ailly, Maree Basse (low tide)

"For me, a landscape does not exist in its own right, since its appearance changes at every moment; but its surroundings bring it to life – the air and the light, which vary continually … For me, it is only the surrounding atmosphere which gives objects their true value."
Monet 1891

As he matured as an artist, Monet returned to the same motif with endless variations: Rouen Cathedral, poplars, haystacks, waterlilies. It was only in this way that he could seek to capture differing effects of light on objects, and changing times of day, as the nominal theme and composition differed only to a small degree.

Turner to Monet

Samuel Palmer - The Golden City

I recently made a trip to Canberra to see an exhibition of landscape paintings by artists such as Turner, Monet and Constable. This exquisite watercolour painting by Samuel Palmer, a friend of William Blake, was a real highlight.