DUTCH AND ROMANTIC LANDSCAPES


1 How does the Dutch landscape differ from the Classical landscape?
It is full of windmills
The layout or composition is basically similar, but the content shows farms, windmills, ports and churches instead.
The figures are usually turned towards the distance, where you can see churches and farms or ports.
The sky is cloudy and the land is flat.
There is smoke coming out of the chimneys, suggesting industrious housewives inside.
2 How do the new features in the Dutch landscapes affect the meaning of the genre (type of art form)?
They extoll the virtues of hard work, where the Classical landscape mourned the loss of an idyllic pastoral existence.
They convert the form into a specifically Christian genre.
They are just local differences, so that Dutch people would see things they could relate to.
They imply that through the joint virtues of Christian faith and industrious work, paradise can be regained after all.
They are optimistic, where Classical landscapes are pessimistic.
3 Did Dutch artists use their landscape formula for other kinds of picture?
Yes.
Yes. We find it in maritime (seafaring) pictures.
More or less. We find the work theme and facing the distance in many Dutch interiors
Yes. We find it in images of towns, and in images of ports.
No. They wouldn't make sense in other contexts.
4 How does the immaculate finish and extraordinary detail in Dutch painting relate to (connect with) the virtues extolled?
The Dutch liked to paint in detail. They always have.
They allow the artist to include lots of propagandist detail like religious paraphernalia.
It allows the artist to pay loving attention to the wonder of creation and humam industry.
Don't you think the light is also important?
These features suggest that the artist is practicing what he preaches. He is working zealously at his job and producing the best possible product.
5 What are the significant features of a Romantic landscape?
You can't categorise - there are too many different kinds.
Large forms.
Little detail because weather or night obscures the view; some large forms; telling use of silhouettes; and figures face the distance.
Use of the "exultant" composition.
Landscapes tend to be extreme - either desolate, rugged, winter, night, or glorious, verdant, sunlit, summer, day.
6 What do these features convey about the meaning of a Romantic landscape?
That you are supposed to be a person of sensibility.
That paradise is lost and you can only gaze at its remnants with regret.
That beauty is in the eye of the holder.
That the universe (or God, or Nature) is infinite and eternal, awe inspiring and full of mystery and possibility, and that by looking at it you can glimpse the eternal (or God) and heal your soul.
That if you are a person of sensibility, salvation is possible for you.
7 What is the function of nature in a Romantic landscape?
To inspire you.
It represents the handiwork of God, and therefore it represents God himself. You are supposed to be in awe of this and respond appropriately.
It suggests the mystery and eternity of the universe, and thus represents infinite possibility.
It makes a good contrast for the silhouetted human figures.
To overwhelm you and remind you how small and insignificant you are.
8 How can you tell that a Romantic landscape is supposed to be beneficial to your soul?
Because often there are people standing amazed or spellbound, gazing silently or with their arms open.
Because the colors are moody (pastel, dazzling, rich, somber etc).
Because the composition is often of the "exalted" type with a strong divergent V.
Because it often shows a "steep and rugged pathway", or a "dark night of the soul".
Because there is often a strong emphasis on light, which is a well-known metaphor for God.
9 How might the use of noticeable silhouettes contribute to the meaning of a Romantic landscape?
Without the silhouettes you might not notice the figures.
They add to the mood of mystery.
They make the figures noticeable within the vast landscape, thus showing both the infinite greatness of God and the individual's importance to him.
They emphasise the uniqueness, privacy and incommunicability of a person's spiritual experience.
They emphasise that the background is the future.
10 Why would Romantic artists seek to inspire varieties of mood in the viewer?
Because you need to be in the right mood to pray.
Because then you can appreciate God's creation better.
To keep the viewer's attention.
Because you can pray just as well, if not better, on a mountain top as you can in a church.
Because if you are a person of sensibility, you cannot help responding appropriately to your emotions. Thus you will be inspired to try to be a better person.
11 Is it possible to combine more than one kind of landscape painting?
Why not just paint a landscape?
Yes.
Yes, and by doing so you enrich the symbolic potential of the form.
It would not make sense to do this.
Yes, but that would ruin the purity of the ideas.