5 Most Famous Featured Landscape Oil Paintings

The landscape is one of the most famous themes of art, which has its roots in the Renaissance and then continues till now, being constantly influenced by artists’ personal painting techniques.

In any case, regardless of the historical periods and the art movements, practically all the most celebrated artists of history have ventured into the oil paintings of some landscapes, and some of the most famous landscape paintings depict thoroughly the scenery of an area.

Initially, the landscape was considered a secondary part of the painting, and the painter's attention was focused only on human subjects, but the development of oil painting of scenes allowed the environment to become the real protagonist of the picture, putting nature at the center of artists’s works.

Painters immerse themselves in the landscape and let them be influenced by the sensations that arise at that precise moment. They capture the moment of the epiphany, the moment in which nature discovers its secrets and reveals itself in its divinity.

This is why the speed of execution becomes fundamental. Some paintings are done all in one day, sometimes with less detail, but with more particular attention to the light, the colors of shades and shadows, and even the sudden changes in the atmosphere.

We can observe a lot of paintings of landscapes where the shapes seem almost sketchy, very rough and imprecise, while the colors are laid out with great care and attention to detail.

The most innovative thing in painting landscapes is the possibility of interpreting subjects in a personal way. Every spectator can freely interpret a painting's message without running the risk of making mistakes or receiving criticism. Landscape paintings allow every spectator to be free and to make art subjective.

Now we will analyze five oil paintings of featured landscapes in a personal way, communicating the sensations that each picture can convey.

1. The Japanese Bridge at Giverny

This is one of Claude Monet's most famous garden paintings, which represents a detail of the garden of the artist's house in Giverny. Monet loved the garden very much and personally designed every detail of the project, including the bridge that was later depicted in this artwork. The bridge serves as a footbridge on the small body of water. A characteristic is the presence of water lilies, a plant beloved by its owner.

The painting can communicate a wonderful feeling of peace and tranquility, a bubble of serenity in the middle of nature. Just imagine Monet sitting while he is drawing or relaxing in front of the bridge. It is the perfect representation of inner peace, of a man who has found his place in the world.

2. Starry Night Over the Rhone

It is Van Gogh’s masterpiece, similar to The Starry Night. The painting was made in 1888 during the stay of Van Gogh in Arles together with Paul Gauguin, in a period where Vincent loved to walk in the evening in search of inspiration and landscapes suitable for painting.

In this painting, Van Gogh succeeded in giving the impression of a humid, fresh atmosphere, and of the artificial lighting of the Arles houses that overlook the stars, the result of a bold and innovative painting technique that consists in spreading two layers of colors without waiting for the first layer to dry.

The painting communicates a feeling of peace, of freshness, of an almost secure place, but with the constant presence of man in the distance, almost a metaphor of the condition of Van Gogh, apparently healthy, but tormented at a distance by his demons.

3. Wanderer above the Sea of Fog

The masterpieces was painted in 1818 by Caspar David Friedrich with the style of Romanticism. A mysterious man stands before a sea of fog. Unlike other landscape paintings, this one was painted in the painter's studio. The choice of having a mysterious protagonist allows the viewer to identify with him, a helpless man in front of the majesty of nature, small and weak before the fog that merges with the sky thanks to a beautiful use of colors. The framing used by Friedrich, which seems cinematic and innovative for the time, is also appreciable.

4. Winter Landscape with Skaters

The beautiful painting was created by Hendrick Avercamp, a Dutch artist in 1608. The painter is in a privileged position and manages to have a clear view of the village and the small frozen lake where the inhabitants are skating. The figures are painted in dynamic poses, apparently giving the impression of movement and the colors chosen for the landscape are on the white/gray, as if it had just finished snowing but with a new storm ready to arrive.

The message is that of a living community that supports each other, that is not afraid of storms and challenges, a message that invites the viewers not to isolate themselves and to be involved in the development of the community where they live.

5. The Buffalo Trail

The artwork was made by the painter Albert Bierstadt around 1868. Bierstadt used photographs as a reference for his paintings, which often depicted far west subjects, such as landscapes and animals. In this painting we can see some buffaloes crossing a river at dawn. Maybe they are running away from predators, or they are just migrating to look for food. The beautiful use of colors allows you to immerse yourself in this landscape from a safe point of view.

The message of the painting is clear: to progress it is necessary to move, evolve, look for new paths in life, migrate to live, survive and improve as human beings.

These are five famous landscape paintings in its unique characteristics with my interpretation. What are yours? The beauty of art is that of being subjective.