British Landscape Art's Battle Against Popular Taste

British people like to complain about Britain, no matter how much we actually love it, and it is therefore unsurprising perhaps that art depicting the landscape of these isles was once exceptionally rare, and then largely unpopular. At a time when art was a greatly intellectual pursuit often used to convey a moral message or deep truth, what was to be learnt from the grey skies, rolling hills and the people who tended the fields of Britain? It seems self-evident today that great beauty was to be found in these scenes but a great shift in taste was required for this to be accepted by British society and for the likes of Thomas Gainsborough, John Constable and J.M.W. Turner to achieve success.

Traditionally, landscapes were considered to be of low value in comparison to other genres of painting in western artistic thought and works which solely depicted the natural world were extremely scarce. The art of the Renaissance focused heavily on classical mythology and Biblical stories with little attention paid to the beauty of nature. Striking backdrops can be found in many of these paintings however, including in the most famous work of the period, Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’, where the subject sits in front of what is believed to be the scenery of Italy’s Arno Valley.

The years of the ‘Dutch Golden Age’ during the 17th century saw the emergence of landscapes as a viable genre and the development of the specific techniques and styles that they displayed. The influence of Calvinism which was the main denomination of the Dutch Republic led to a significant reduction in the prominence of religious art, which was now banned in Churches, and a rise in appreciation for the natural world and scenes of everyday life. Elsewhere in Europe however, ‘pure’ landscapes remained to be unfashionable, yet some of the most celebrated and influential figures of the genre, such as Claude Lorrain, Salvator Rosa and Nicholas Poussin, lived during this period. These painters produced idyllic views of the of the serene and golden Italian landscape but achieved respectable status for their works with the addition of Biblical and mythological figures and Roman ruins, elevating their classification to history paintings or what became known as ‘classical landscapes’.

Back in Britain, the art of these great continental talents came to adorn the walls of this country’s many great houses and palaces, after the young, classically educated men of society’s upper echelons returned from their ‘Grand Tours’ with an abundance of prestigious, European creations. It is for this reason that throughout the grand buildings featured in television programs such as Downton Abbey and The Crown, framed depictions of the Roman hills bathed in the glow of the Italian sun are numerous.

This affection for landscapes in Britain was however, reserved for European scenes and images of the indigenous environment continued to garner little affection. When British landscape artists did begin to see success, it was cultivated from imitating their predecessors from the continent or in some cases travelling to Italy to study this style that had found favour with the aristocracy. For example, ‘A view of Box Hill, Surrey’, the most famous painting by George Lambert who is considered to be a key figure in the development of British landscapes, is recognisable for the tranquillity of its lighting, akin to that produced by Lorrain. Another pioneer of the British movement, Welshman Richard Wilson, also gained notoriety for his classical style, something which he had developed in Italy and translated to his paintings of Britain.

It was these works that paved the way for artwork purely showcasing this country’s landscape to gain respect in society. However, in the latter half of the 18th century, art became more affordable to those who were not part of the aristocracy and whose respect did not need to be garnered by appealing to continental fashions. This revelation also coincided with the dawn of the romantic movement which was centred around emotion and aimed to espouse the beauty of nature through evoking ‘awe’ and ‘the sublime’. These ideals were embodied by the turbulence of the British Isles with their moody skies, unruly terrain and wild seas, allowing the undeniable beauty of the landscape to captured to its extremes and appreciated for its emotional power. During these ideal conditions, two of England’s most celebrated painters emerged: John Constable and J.M.W. Turner. They were heavily influenced by artists like Claude who came before them but these new conditions afforded them great success and elevated landscape painting to a greatly increased standing.

The success that this generation of landscape painters enjoyed would have seemed impossible a relatively short amount of time before, demonstrating how rapidly tastes changed. In just over a century, British artists moved from imitating their European influences and applying their techniques to domestic scenes, to not only winning favour at home, but garnering international praise for distinctly British landscapes and developing new styles. It could be said that the likes of Turner and Constable and those such as Lambert, Wilson and William Hogarth that came before them allowed for the art of this country to flourish beyond its waters. Our landscapes, which were once considered dull and uninspired in the face of those of Italy and France have been known as one of Britain’s particular artistic strengths since, thanks to the unpredictable and dramatic conditions that infuriate so many.