History of Landscape
14th, 15th and 16th Centuries
The depiction of landscape in art has its roots in Greek and Roman times, with murals of landscapes painted on the walls of expensive villas. However, it was in the Renaissance when landscape gained in popularity. The ‘Classical’ vision of the land as a place for pleasure was reborn and people looked at the landscape with renewed interest.
Landscape painting was not produced in its own right at this time with early Renaissance painters presenting landscape as a backdrop to religious scenes and portraits.
As landscapes became more accurately portrayed, it became easier to integrate figures within them to be shown in proportion to the rest of the picture. Artists also started to use colours and forms in the background that mirrored the mood and the figures of the events depicted in their religious and mythological paintings.
Lamentation over Christ, late 15th early 16th Century