Most Famous Landscape Paintings

Before we go ahead to look at some of the most famous landscape paintings that have inspired many artists to create detailed paintings depicting nature in all of its incredible colors and elements, I will like to reflect on the history of landscape/nature painting briefly.

In the early 15th century, landscape backgrounds became famous, and in the 16th century, Leonardo da Vinci brought the technique to height by applying it in every one of his portraits. Leonardo’s landscaped themed paintings introduced a new interest in artistic interpretations in artworks, and more people began to appreciate the importance of nature paintings. By the 17th century, landscape arts became more popular among many artists, but it was still not recognized as the highest form of a painting by the royal academies. Nevertheless, the importance of landscape in artworks continued to grow.

Then, in the 18th century, the royal academy finally recognized the history of landscape as an essential element in the documentation of nature for educational study. The recognition by the academy then opened the door for the first genre of American art, incorporating landscape as a form of American history.
Below are some of the famous landscape paintings celebrated in the past centuries and still showcase mastery in artistic achievements as well as other notable art pieces considered amongst the most critical artworks available today.

1942 “Madonna on the Rocks” by Leonardo da Vinci
Most of Leonardo’s paintings have landscapes in the foreground behind the subjects in the artwork, and after a while, it became a standard indicator of his works as he became famous for adopting an effect of contrast light and shadow in addition to well-built landscape to create mind-blowing pieces that encouraged the importance of landscape art.

Gloucester Harbor by Winslow Homer
The commercial illustrator who later became a self-taught American artist became fascinated with nature, and this influenced his interest in the traditional oil medium. He quickly rose to become famous for his landscape paintings which he created during his vacations from work. The Gloucester Harbor painting depicts the beauty of color, light and the serene atmosphere of experiencing the sea. The artist also has other famous nature paintings displayed in several museums in various parts of the country.

The Oxbow by Thomas Cole
Thomas is an American painter who is said to be the founder of the Hudson River School. Some landscape artists came together and created a movement in the 19th century and their aesthetic vision being influenced by Romanticism, they formed the school. At this period, wild and expressive qualities of nature became highly promoted to represent philosophical themes deeply. Thomas Cole became famous for his original paintings of America’s extreme wilderness, and he was able to express his ideas and emotions on many of his artworks, including Home in the woods, the Oxbow (The Connecticut River Near Northampton) and the Distant View of the Niagara Falls.

A lot more famous and original landscape paintings exist in various art galleries by great artists who continue to inspire young artists to incorporate landscaping into their works to better connect with their audience. More so, GalleryToday showcases over 1270 landscape paintings online, so, if you are looking for that original landscape painting capable of winning your attention at first sight with that aesthetic appeal from detail brushwork and perfect color combinations, then, go check out this fantastic online gallery.