The theme of landscape as a genre of fine art is terrain. WITH French The word “landscape” is translated as “terrain, country.” After all, landscape is not only the image of nature that is familiar to us. The landscape can also be urban (architectural, for example). In the urban landscape, a documentary-accurate image is distinguished - “veduta”.
And if we talk about the natural landscape, then they highlight separately seascape, which is called “marina” (accordingly, artists depicting the sea are called “marinists”), cosmic (image of celestial space, stars and planets).
But landscapes also differ in terms of time: modern, historical, futuristic landscapes.
However, in art, no matter what the landscape is (real or fictional), it is always an artistic image. In this regard, it is important to understand that for everyone artistic style(classicism, baroque, romanticism, realism, modernism) are characterized by their own philosophy and aesthetics of landscape images.
Of course, the landscape genre developed gradually, just as science developed. It would seem, what do landscapes and science have in common? A lot in common! To create a realistic landscape, you need to have knowledge of linear and aerial perspective, proportionality, composition, chiaroscuro, etc.
Therefore, the landscape genre is considered a relatively young genre in painting. For a long time, landscape was only an “auxiliary” means: nature was depicted as a background in portraits, icons, genre scenes. Often it was not real, but idealized, generalized.
And although the landscape began to develop in ancient Eastern art, independent meaning he got in Western European art starting around the 14th century.
And it would be very interesting to figure out why this happened. After all, by this time a person already knew how to quite correctly depict abstract ideas, his appearance, his life, animals in graphic symbols, but he remained indifferent to nature for a long time. And only now is he trying to understand nature and its essence, because... In order to depict, one must understand.
Development of landscape in European painting
Interest in landscape becomes clearly noticeable, starting with the painting of the Early Renaissance.
Italian artist and architect Giotto(c. 1267-1337) developed a completely new approach to depicting space. And although in his paintings the landscape was also only an auxiliary means, it already carried an independent semantic load; Giotto turned the flat, two-dimensional space of the icon into three-dimensional, creating the illusion of depth using chiaroscuro.
Giotto "Flight into Egypt" (Church of San Francesco in Assisi)
The painting conveys the idyllic spring mood of the landscape.
Landscape began to play an even more important role during the High Renaissance (16th century). It was during this period that the search began for the possibilities of composition, perspective and other components of painting to convey the surrounding world.
Masters played a major role in the creation of the landscape genre of this period Venetian school: Giorgione (1476/7-1510), Titian (1473-1576), El Greco (1541-1614).
El Greco "View of Toledo" (1596-1600). Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
The Spanish city of Toledo is depicted under a gloomy stormy sky. The contrast between heaven and earth is obvious. The view of the city is given from below, the horizon line is raised high, and phantasmagoric light is used.
In creativity Pieter Bruegel (the Elder) the landscape is already gaining breadth, freedom and sincerity. He writes simply, but in this simplicity one can see the nobility of a soul that knows how to see beauty in nature. He knows how to convey both the petty world under his feet and the vastness of fields, mountains, and skies. He has no dead, empty places - everything lives and breathes with him.
We bring to your attention two paintings by P. Bruegel from the cycle “The Seasons”.
P. Bruegel (The Elder) “Return of the Herd” (1565). Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)
P. Bruegel (The Elder) “Hunters in the Snow” (1565). Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna)
In pictures Spanish artist D. Velazquez we can already see the birth of plein air ( plein air- from fr. en plein air – “in the open air”) painting. His work “View of the Villa Medici” conveys the freshness of greenery, warm shades of light sliding along the leaves of trees and high stone walls.
D. Velazquez “View of the garden of the Villa Medici in Rome” (1630)
Rubens(1577-1640), life-affirming, dynamic, characteristic of the work of this artist.
P. Rubens “Landscape with a Rainbow”
From a French artist Francois Boucher(1703-1770) landscapes seem to be woven from blue, pink, and silver shades.
F. Boucher “Landscape with a water mill” (1755). National Gallery (London)
Impressionist artists sought to develop methods and techniques that made it possible to capture the most naturally and vividly real world in its mobility and variability, to convey your fleeting impressions.
Auguste Renoir "The Paddling Pool". Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York)
Post-Impressionist artists developed the traditions of the Impressionists in their painting.
Vincent Wag Gogh " Starlight Night"(1889)
In the 20th century Representatives of a wide variety of people turned to the landscape genre artistic directions: Fauvists, Cubists, Surrealists, Abstractionists, Realists.
Here is an example of a landscape by an American artist Helen (Helen) Frankenthaler(1928-2011), who worked in the style of abstract art.
Helen Frankenthaler "Mountains and Sea" (1952)
Some types of landscape
Architectural landscape
N.V. Gogol called architecture “the chronicle of the world”, because she, in his opinion, “speaks even when both songs and legends are already silent...”. Nowhere is the character and style of the time manifested so figuratively and clearly as in architecture. Apparently, this is why the masters of painting captured the architectural landscape on their canvases.
F. Ya. Alekseev “View of the Exchange and the Admiralty from the Peter and Paul Fortress” (1810)
The painting shows the Arrow Vasilyevsky Island. Its compositional center architectural ensemble- Exchange building. In front of the Exchange there is a semicircular square with a granite embankment. On its two sides there are columns that served as beacons. At the foot of the columns there are stone sculptures symbolizing the Russian rivers: the Volga, Dnieper, Neva and Volkhov. On the opposite bank of the river the Winter Palace and the Admiralty buildings are visible, Senate square. Construction of the Exchange, designed by Thomas de Thomon, lasted from 1804 to 1810. When Pushkin arrived in St. Petersburg in 1811, the Exchange had already become the architectural center of the Spit of Vasilievsky Island and the busiest place in the port city.
A type of architectural landscape is the veduta. As a matter of fact, this landscape by F. Alekseev is the vedova.
Veduta
Veduta - genre European painting, especially popular in Venice in the 18th century. It is a painting, drawing, or engraving of a detailed depiction of an everyday cityscape. So, Dutch artist Jan Vermeer depicted exactly his native city of Delft.
Jan Vermeer "View of Delft" (1660)
Veduta masters worked in many European countries, including Russia (M. I. Makhaev and F. Ya. Alekseev). Whole line leading with Russian views performed by Giacomo Quarenghi.
Marina
Marina is a genre of painting, a type of landscape (from the Latin marinus - sea), depicting a sea view or a scene of a naval battle, as well as other events taking place at sea. As an independent species landscape painting Marina stood out at the beginning of the 17th century. in Holland.
Marine painter (French mariniste) is an artist who paints marine life. The most prominent representatives of this genre are the Englishmen William Turner and Russian (Armenian) artist Ivan Constantinovich Aivazovski, who painted about 6,000 paintings on a marine theme.
W. Turner “The last voyage of the ship “Brave””
I. Aivazovsky “Rainbow”
A rainbow that appears in a stormy sea gives hope for the rescue of people from a shipwrecked ship.
Historical landscape
Everything about it is quite simple: to show the past through the historical setting, natural and architectural environment. Here we can remember the pictures N.K. Roerich, images of Moscow in the 17th century. A.M. Vasnetsova, Russian Baroque of the 18th century. HER. Lanceray, A.N. Benoit, archaic K.F. Bogaevsky and etc.
N. Roerich “Overseas Guests” (1901)
This is a painting from the series “The Beginning of Rus'. Slavs". In the article “On the Way from the Varangians to the Greeks” (1899), Roerich described an imaginary poetic picture: “The midnight guests are sailing. The gently sloping shore of the Gulf of Finland stretches like a light stripe. The water seemed to be saturated with the blue of the clear spring sky; the wind ripples across it, driving away matte-purple stripes and circles. A flock of seagulls landed on the waves, carelessly swayed on them, and only under the very keel of the front boat flashed their wings - they were alarmed peaceful life something unfamiliar, unprecedented. A new stream breaks through the standing water, it runs into the age-old Slavic life, will pass through forests and swamps, roll wide field, the Slavic families will rise up - they will see rare, unfamiliar guests, they will marvel at their strictly martial, at their overseas custom. The rooks are coming in a long row! Bright coloring burns in the Sun. The bow sides turned up dashingly, ending in a high, slender nose.”
K. Bogaevsky “Consular Tower in Sudak” (1903). Feodosiyskaya Art Gallery named after I.K. Aivazovsky
Futuristic (fantastic) landscape
Paintings Belgian artist Jonas De Ro are epic canvases of new, unexplored worlds. The main object of Jonas's images are extensive pictures of the post-apocalyptic world, futuristic, fantastic images.
In addition to the future of absolutely real cities, Jonas also draws completely original illustrations of an abandoned city.
J. De Roe “Abandoned Civilization”
Philosophy of landscape
What is it?
At the center of landscape painting is always the question of man's relationship to the environment - be it a city or nature. But also environment also has its own relation to a person. And these relationships can be harmonious and inharmonious.
Consider the landscape “Evening Bells”.
I. Levitan “Evening Bells” (1892). State Tretyakov Gallery(Moscow)
The painting “Evening Bells” depicts a monastery at a bend in the river, illuminated by the evening sun’s rays. The monastery is surrounded autumn forest, clouds are floating across the sky - and all this is reflected in the mirror surface of a calmly flowing river. The bright joy of nature and the spiritual world of people’s existence and feelings are fused in harmony. I want to look at this picture and look at it, it calms the soul. This is blissful, idyllic beauty.
And here is another landscape by the same artist - “Above Eternal Peace.”
I. Levitan “Above Eternal Peace” (1894). State Tretyakov Gallery (Moscow)
Levitan himself wrote about this picture: “... I am all in it, with all my psyche, with all my content...”. In another letter: “Eternity, a terrible eternity, in which generations have drowned and will drown again... What horror, what fear!” It is this menacing eternity that Levitan’s painting makes us think about. The water and sky in the picture captivate and amaze a person, awakening the thought of the insignificance and transience of life. On a steep, high bank there is a lonely wooden church, next to it is a cemetery with rickety crosses and abandoned graves. The wind shakes the trees, drives the clouds, drags the viewer into the endless northern expanse. The gloomy grandeur of nature is opposed only by a tiny light in the window of the church.
The artist may have wanted to answer with his painting the question about the relationship between man and nature, about the meaning of life, contrasting the eternal and powerful forces of nature with the weak and short-lived human life. This is sublime tragedy.
Another master class
By soft materials here we will mean pencils 3B and softer, pressed charcoal, sanguine, sauce, sepia, chalk, pastel. The softer the material, the more gentle the touch to the paper should be. It is better to erase bad places at the beginning with a napkin or a stick, then with an eraser. Some of these materials can be used when working on wet paper: sauce, sanguine, sepia. They can also be rubbed into dust, diluted with water in any proportion and worked with a brush. Examples of specific work methods will be given below.
Beginners often have an ill-conceived attitude towards materials, for example, when there is limited time for large sheet The drawing is done with a hard pencil. In the absence of experience, the work process becomes difficult and a complete result becomes unattainable. Sketches big size provide positive influence to develop a sense of integrity, and they are naturally performed with flexible, moveable materials such as sanguine, charcoal, sepia, etc. Such large sketches are performed at arm's length.
Interior drawing.
The depiction of interiors from nature has its own characteristics. Firstly, the interior includes spatial plans. The draftsman must find such a point that the architecture in the drawing is legible and with the correct proportions of the general and the details. At the same time, for very large spaces it is necessary to “correct” the apparent perspective so that less distortion occurs. To do this, it is possible to construct a wide-angle perspective “by eye” with three or more vanishing points on the horizon, and the verticals are drawn strictly parallel. Chamber interiors are depicted with a normal perspective. The location of the horizon line is very important - at eye level standing man, or sitting. In rare cases, a horizon line is made near the floor to give a special monumentality to the object. Secondly, the interior has various lighting sources and sometimes several light points “work”. In any case, you need to pay attention to the aerial perspective, which complements the linear one. The foreground becomes the most contrasting; as it moves away, the light appears darker, the shadows appear lighter, and all other tonal relationships become closer. Thirdly, objects in the interior vary in color (from white to black) and texture (wood, marble, metal)
For quick sketches, use a line. But the line, as such, only conditionally defines the boundaries of the object, without giving an idea of its color and textural qualities. Therefore, based on the first linear sketch, you can immediately lay out a light tone with a blender or suede, having first tried it on the palette. The line's capabilities in transmitting real volume are also limited. We know the brilliant linear drawings of interiors by such architects as Voronikhin, Thomas de Thomon, Cameron, Zholtovsky, Noakovsky.
The cut-off pattern expresses not only the conventional nature of lighting, but also much more. Before making such a drawing, you need to think about how to more effectively use lighting in the interior, how to most expressively reveal the lighting plans. Whether the light passes through the windows, or whether it is diffused light, or whether the light comes from chandeliers - in each case, a qualitatively new design solution will be required. For interior drawings, it is good to use tinted paper, with the expectation of making strokes in the light points at the last stage of the work with chalk.
A brilliant example of chiaroscuro drawings of interiors are the drawings of Gonzago, Premazzi and Piranesi.
Drawing of a landscape with architecture.
You need to paint outdoors in different weather and at different times - then we will see the same architecture in different lighting, and it will be easier to catch the main thing. Here it is also necessary to construct an image in perspective, which determines the relationship of spatial plans with the horizon and the vanishing point and position of all objects in space. First, try to outline the very shape of the buildings, which does not depend on lighting. As the sun moves, it will change all the time and you need to remember and quickly fix the most advantageous position on the sheet, or from the very beginning you assume diffuse lighting from the cloudy sky. Work first of all on large plans, subordinate and relate smaller forms and details to them. It is advisable to draw on different paper formats so that the architecture appears on a different scale. It is easier to start with cityscapes on a non-sunny day, when the lighting is more stable and the light-and-shadow ratio changes little. Examples of such works are drawings by M. Vorobyov, F. Alekseev, I. Charlemagne and others.
Drawing of architecture in a landscape (from my experience).
I choose a paper format and immediately sketch out the composition on a sheet of paper in sepia (without a pencil): how much land, how much architecture and how much sky. Usually the area of sky on the sheet is greater than the area of land (it’s bad when it turns out the same). In the first stage, problems of lighting and tonal relationships are “kept in mind” - the very shape of the earth and architecture is sketched out, through simplified forms without details - plane, prism, cylinder, etc. For clarity of composition, the first sketch should be bright but “light.”
Then the elaboration of the main details and explanation begins general form tone. You can apply rubbed sepia with a brush or suede and easily, without rubbing it into the paper, apply it in the places necessary for the composition. In diffuse lighting, these are, first of all, openings; in sunny lighting, these are also the general boundaries of their own shadows. The average ground tone is usually darker than the average architecture tone. Further detailing and development in tone is carried out in accordance with linear and aerial perspective. At the same time, preferably in one go, the sky is made: the state of the clouds in perspective and lighting, and the architecture is completed against the background of the sky. Throughout the work, architecture remains the main element of the composition. It is always advisable in the final stage to make one or two of the lightest places and one or two of the darkest, while enhancing the contrasts in the foreground. Closer to the edges of the sheet, the contrasts weaken. The surroundings (nature, people) in such drawings are medium in tone and more or less conventional, that is, they “play along” with the architecture. The linear stage and details are done only with a sharply sharpened sepia stick. For almost all subjects, paper with a rough texture can be used. Then the distant plans are done with shading, and the foreground with chalk, to convey rough texture (tree bark, walls made of boulders, earth, etc.). If you take tinted paper - yellowish, grayish, brownish, etc. – then in the last stage several accents are placed with chalk or liquid white with a brush. Whitewash is used in two ways: either as a highlight or as a light plane. The glare is small in area, but bright in intensity. Light planes are less bright, but larger in area. In both cases, these light spots are different in intensity and one of them becomes the brightest. The overall tone of the sky is usually lighter than everything else.
Drawing of a landscape with architectural elements.
You can especially consider landscape drawings, where architecture in the composition plays only the role of an accent that emphasizes the beauty of the landscape. In such drawings, the co-scale of the architectural element and the landscape is especially important. The task here is to show how beautifully architecture fits into nature and at the same time differs from it. The texture of nature is infinitely varied: sky, foliage, trees, earth, stones, etc. in contrast to more or less the same texture in architecture. Special role architectural details come into play here. Such drawings are made, as a rule, in a deep tone - from white to the darkest, but it is advisable not to reach such a degree of darkness that the material no longer “works”.
2 weeks ago by elena_tarutina I will continue to summarize the experience of what I have learned over the past 4 years. ⠀ Recently I described in detail all the stages of creating a school, all my gradual steps and doubts with it. ⠀ I hope that in the near future I will write about the path, my own transformations, and about the change in my outlook on life, and about how I decided with three children not only to be an artist, but also to create a huge community. ⠀ ⠀ And now with great pleasure I will tell you about @ap428 Armen Petrosyan, a significant person for me, who very seriously supported me in creating a school, and in general in understanding the direction of my life. ⠀ ⠀ Armen has two big...
2 weeks ago by elena_tarutina I started to figure out the program for next year. I felt a whole crowd of characters in my head, each of them saying something different. ⠀ ⠀ One has already come up with 6 (six, Karl!) new ideas. The second one says that his own creativity will be a priority this year (and I’m on his side!). The third one asks, who will do all this, huh? The fourth timidly hints that he needs sleep and rest. The fifth person’s thoughts are exclusively on the topic of what else interesting things to do with his own children (yesterday he got around to baking cookies with them according to the recipe @ann_chernykh, it turned out very tasty, thank you, Anya! #Christmas cookies_of Swiss grandmothers)⠀ ⠀ Well...
2 weeks ago by elena_tarutina To me Lately no time for books at all. But there are a lot of people in line. And today there was a happy pause and I got to the Labyrinth, ordered a bunch, due to discounts. And I also bought a course on psychosomatics... And I started reading new book Liz Gilbert. ⠀ ⠀ This three women have long inspired me, given me strength and some new understanding of my nature - Liz Gilbert (Eat to Pray, Love), Julia Cameron (everything), and Clarissa Pinkola Estes (Running with the Wolves).⠀ ⠀ Below is an excerpt from Liz Gilbert's book Big Magic. About the fact that you don’t have to wait for inspiration. At all. ⠀ ⠀ And in the photo - I brought Nikita with...
2 weeks ago by elena_tarutina People have already started asking me if there will be a calendar this year. Yes, we are already doing it! The dream of making a calendar in October is apparently not feasible, but at least it will be in early December) ⠀ For me, it is already a tradition to make a calendar with the works of the year, although not all, but important. So one of these days I’ll post more detailed information.⠀ ⠀ And I remind you that there are 4 days left before the start of the course “Freedom in creativity and mixed techniques”!⠀ You can sign up for the group via the link in the profile. We start on December 5th. #beanartist100
2 weeks ago by elena_tarutina There are 3 days left until the start of the course “Creative Freedom and Mixed Techniques”! I’ll answer the most important ones here FAQ. You can watch the lessons at any convenient time, since they are recorded in advance. How long does it take: the lesson is about 30-40 minutes, and about another hour of video analysis (of the work that is posted in the first three days), everyone should definitely watch it, there is a lot of important stuff there. You need a minimum hour a week for your work, and it’s better to add 20-30 minutes to this every day to maintain and continue the topic. If you have more time to work on the course, great. An introductory theoretical lesson opens on Thursday, and...
1 week ago by elena_tarutina Starts the day after tomorrow, December 5th. A little more about what will be on the course: “This is a practical course dedicated to introducing well-known materials to a new level, handling them more boldly and connecting incompatible things. We will understand what else can be done with ordinary pastels and acrylic, charcoal and putty, corrugation and tape - so that in the end we get something new - a new feeling, a new state, new creative possibilities. Let's touch on how to generalize, highlight the main thing, draw sketchily and quickly. We will talk about how to transform your relationship with creativity into a different quality - more free, liberated, adding excitement and vision of possibilities. How do you even look at...
1 week ago by elena_tarutina Against the backdrop of the fact that tomorrow I’m starting again “ Mixed Techniques", stepped up her own experiments. ⠀ I bought different materials today, I’m sitting testing them in between all the children’s activities, needs, questions and screams. ⠀ ⠀ Just when you paint something like that, there are screams again, or Masya comes to the workshop to sort out dried pumpkins, beads (I keep a special box of them for her), or to paint something with me. ⠀ And they also want an advent calendar - even the eldest, although he hides it ⠀ I almost came up with it. ⠀ ⠀ For those who like to jump into the last carriage, you can still join the course - via the link in...
5 days ago by elena_tarutina A year ago I also summed up the results of the year. And I also came to the conclusion about how complex the balance is) I’ll write about this year separately. In the meantime, last year’s: ⠀ “Analysis of the creative year, a few thoughts here too. In general, the year turned out to be uneven and torn in this section. And obviously I didn’t have enough time for everything I had planned. More precisely, we managed to do 10 percent of what we wanted. And 200 of what was possible in my situation. ⠀ ⠀ I am pleased that, in my opinion, there was a breakthrough with large complex technological works, multi-layered using different materials. But there weren't enough of them. All summer and beyond -…
20 hours ago by elena_tarutina Finally finished the calendar)) ⠀ All attempts to do this earlier fail every year various reasons. ⠀ Whoever asked, you can order - link in profile, same place detailed description. ⠀ ----------⠀ Friends! This year, as usual, I am again making a calendar with my works. As in the last three times, it contains some of the work done during the year. ⠀ Many of them were at my personal exhibition in September, but there are also new ones. ⠀ ⠀ As usual, I am making a small edition for friends, and a small part of it can be purchased. ⠀ ⠀ This time its format is the same square - 29x29cm...
ARCHITECTURE IN LANDSCAPE
Every summer, many artists draw and paint architectural monuments from nature. Painting outdoors requires certain knowledge and practical skills. Here you can observe much larger spaces: often the distance to the depicted objects can reach several kilometers.
Let's say you come to the park. Among the old spreading poplars and linden trees there are small architectural details - bizarrely shaped woodenbenches, gates, gazebos, verandas, fountains. Before you startsketches , choose the point of view from which objects surrounded by greenery will look most expressive.
We must strive to emphasize characteristic feature structures and forms of architectural elements, learn to see the main and secondary in them. Some of the most interesting parts should be drawn in more detail, the rest should be simplified.
Suchsketches flexible, timesa strange line should pass throughdeal with tone - shading.Then the drawing will look likemore alive. Sketches are being madein any technique, but the main thing isthe task is to develop the sharpness of the formnia, observation, tverreach your hand. Then we move on tosmall colorsketches .
They may includesolid elements architecture .
Here it is also necessary to correctny choice motive. If you areattacking the village gateat home, don't forget about your surroundingsitems along the path,bush near the gate, tree vyah.
Often the image is composed too large for the selectedformat leaf. Or, on the contrary, they draw any detail so finely that it disappears inlandscape . Or it ends up exactly in the center of the sheet, as if breaking it into equal parts. Often young artists depict a building in such a way that it covers the entire landscape - be it a river, forest, lake, field.
When drawing various architectural motifs, many are careless about their elementary construction. This gives the impression of instability of structures and leads to curvature of their individual parts.
It is easier to write using an accurate, well-composed drawingcolor . But it’s not at all necessary to show and then studybrush the smallest details of the structure. It is necessary to select from them only those that give the building a unique architectural appearance and express its character, “face”. After all, often in the pursuit of little things we miss the main thing. But another mistake often occurs: complete disregard for details, an obligatory “pursuit” of generality. This drains the vitality from the sketch and makes the work approximate.
Plans in open space are especially pronounced - for example, a building, being in the distance, will no longer look as distinct as it does up close. The distant forest will appear as a blue or blue stripe; the trunks and crowns of individual trees are simply not visible. Also architectural structure at a certain distance it is “generalized”stuffy environment and looks either dark or light in the sketchsilhouette against the background of sky and earth - this already depends on the state of the day.
Watercolorists most often the first and medium plans are prescribed in more detail, placing several transparent layers of paint on top of each other, with a gradual increase in color strength andtones . And for the background, they use the filling technique - applying paint in one layer.
Color The architectural landscape depends both on the appearance and color of buildings and the reflections falling on them, and on the time of day.
If you have chosen a morning motif, the colors of your sketch should not be too bright or harsh. Try to choose calm combinations of warm and cold shades. Working on a sunny afternoon, you may notice that the color of objects in the light is whitened, and the shadows, on the contrary, are saturated with hot reflections from the ground and cold reflections from the sky. When depicting an evening motif, such as a sunset, keep in mind that objects become less distinguishable in detail, darker in tone and cooler in color, while the sky can be very colorful, even somewhat fantastic. It is very important to correctly understand tonal and color relationships and convey them correctly.
Work on an architectural landscape will be successful only with a careful study of nature, the ability to see details as a whole and the whole inseparable from the characteristic details. And most importantly, you must love nature and architecture, feel their indissoluble, poetic unity.
I. NIKITINWho among us has not admired the majestic and charming views of the city, infinitely diverse, evoking equally diverse feelings and emotions! Fabulous silhouettes of ancient city walls and towers, majestic palaces and public buildings, attractive and impressive arrays of residential buildings, powerful groups of industrial and other buildings - the result of creative thought and constructive work of generations of many centuries or the result of heroic and ingenious transformations.
It is not surprising that the pictures of the city inspired and continue to inspire the artist’s creative thought.
The cities of our homeland provide an endless choice of exciting subjects for artists.
Stalin's five-year plans for grandiose socialist construction are transforming the face of our country from year to year. (One after another, before everyone’s eyes, new cities are growing, old ones are being reconstructed and expanded, changing their appearance beyond recognition, which has remained unchanged for decades. New giants of Soviet industry are emerging, grandiose structures are being built - hydroelectric power stations, bridges, dams, canals and many, many others , a wide variety of names and purposes.
This construction, by its appearance, by its architecture, speaks of a new life, of new achievements of free socialist labor. It inspires and attracts to new exploits and victories.
The themes of our urban, industrial and architectural landscape are countless and exceptionally rewarding for the artist in their emotional meaning and beauty.
That is why young artists should not only get acquainted with this section of drawing and painting, but also test their strength in creative work on its subjects.
Architecture has long attracted artists - painters and graphic artists - not only the capital compositional element of the picture, reflecting the real setting of the action or the environment of the depicted object, but also the beauty of architectural volumes and forms, perfectly combined with nature, the human figure, the movement of the crowd, the colors of decoration and costume . However, the depiction of architecture for a long time was of a decorative nature and did not go beyond the conventions of the flat style.
Realistic, faithful and expressive in terms of volume and space, the transfer of more or less complex architectural forms, organized into ensembles and groups, became possible only after the 15th century, in the era Italian Renaissance, the laws of perspective were explored and revealed.
The science of perspective has developed more and more over time and in our time has been brought to such perfection that its rules not only make it possible to depict objects when drawing them from life, but also to reproduce the appearance of objects created by the creative imagination of the artist.
In addition to knowledge of the laws of perspective, to successfully work on the urban landscape and architectural motifs, the artist must become more familiar with the art of architecture and architectural forms.
As is known, this oldest of arts, when creating buildings and structures, endows them with such forms and external features that make it possible to guess the purpose of the structures by their appearance, determine the relationship of one part of it to another and their mutual connection, and distinguish the main from the secondary.
Organizing space and processing volumes, planes and details of the structure, the architect is guided by what he creates artistically and architectural idea.
With extensive practice in drawing from life, the inquisitive eye of the artist gradually learns to understand the peculiarities of construction and the stylistic nature of architectural forms, even of considerable complexity. However, for a conscious attitude towards Nature, familiarity with history is necessary.
It goes without saying that independent compositional work on any complex architectural topics cannot be done successfully without sufficient special knowledge.
The reproductions presented here from drawings and paintings by masters of the urban and architectural landscape - painters and architects - provide an opportunity to analyze aspects of compositional order and become familiar with execution techniques.
It is immeasurably more useful to conduct such a study using the originals that represent this type of drawing and painting in our art galleries and museums.
The famous masters of architectural landscape were the Venetian painters Antonio Canaletto (1697-1768), Bernardo Belotto (1720-1789), Francesco Guardi (1712-1793), D. Pannini (1695-1768), the Venetian architect and etcher Giovanni Battista Piranesi (1720-1778), French artist Hubert Robert (1733-1778).
The works of Russian masters are excellent: An. Velsky (1730 1796), F. Alekseev (1755-1824), Sylvester Shchedrin (1791-1830), Galaktionov (1779-1854), M. Vorobyov (1787-1855).
Brilliant examples of architectural landscape and architectural fantasies and perspectives can be found in the drawings of architects: M. Kazakov (1738-1813), Giacomo Quarenghi (1744-1817), A. Voronikhin (1760-1813), P. Gonzago (1751-1831) and etc.
Here are a few practical notes related to working from life, which are useful to take into account for aspiring young artists working on an architectural landscape.
Good choice of point from which to sketch a city view, architectural landscape or architectural monument, It has great importance. This task must be solved most advantageously both in terms of the overall composition and in terms of the most expressive characteristics main topic this drawing or pictorial sketch. In this direction, you need to develop your artistic flair in every possible way, studying classical examples of composition in fine arts and the endless beauty of nature. Sometimes it can be difficult to immediately decide on the most advantageous borders of the picture from an artistic point of view.
The reason for this may be the vast scale of the city view or architectural landscape stretching out before us, the multitude of architectural details that equally attract the eye of the artist and are equally tempting for him.
It should be borne in mind that it is more advisable for novice artists to first limit themselves to simpler and less subject-specific subjects, moving on to working on more complex topics gradually.
When working on architectural landscapes, the young artist must proceed from the main, from the main to the particulars, to the secondary. The drawing should be based on the correct perspective construction of forms. The drawer must first of all clearly imagine the position of the horizon, vanishing point, points of deviation of lines, etc.
Perspective constructions when drawing from life can be reduced to the simplest schemes and techniques. They are very elementary and concern only basic constructions and basic forms. Necessary techniques, evenness must be carefully studied in nature and drawn, guided by the rules of perspective, in full consistency with the basic perspective scheme.
An artist of an architectural landscape should be especially demanding of himself when he analyzes the structure of architectural masses, volumes and forms, determines their mutual constructive connection, establishes relationships and proportions, and seeks out the nature of the movement and rhythm of architectural masses and lines. Portrait likeness of an image is of exceptional importance for architectural subjects. The ego follows from the conditions of harmonious regularity and completeness of architectural forms.
The plans of city views and architectural landscapes that go far into the depths of the picture, the spatiality and relief plasticity of architectural exteriors and interiors, the effects of light and shadow, the airy haze of distances and the transparency of shadows will undoubtedly attract attention. young artist. He must strive for a faithful, lively and artistic representation of them, given that a significant share of the charm and persuasiveness of his drawings and sketches depends on this.