History of Landscape
18th Century
The 18th century 'Grand Tour' involved many rich young men (and sometimes women) touring Europe, particularly Italy, visiting places famed for their art and architecture. They would often buy souvenirs, such as capricci (imaginary paintings depicting ruined or intact architecture in picturesque settings) and other landscapes. Canaletto was one of the most popular artists with those tourists, who was famed for his depictions of Venice.
France and Britain became the new centres of landscape art. In France, Watteau invented what is known as the 'Fête Galante', which depicted pastoral landscapes with figures enjoying picnics and walks in the countryside. In England, Gainsborough would make preparatory sketches from nature before painting the final scenes in his studio and even built miniature models of his landscapes in order to paint them with more accuracy.
Giovanni Antonio Canal, known as Canaletto (1697 - 1768)
Regatta on the Grand Canal, c.1735