“Forever Landscape” Mini-Course at the Laguna Art Museum
On November 13th I will begin a mini-course on the subject of landscape painting as part of Laguna Art Museum Lunchtime Lecture Series. I hope those of you within driving distance could join us for a single lecture, or for all five. To see detailed descriptions of each lecture, please click on the links below.
Forever Landscape
Landscape is at once one of the most popular and the most misunderstood genres in painting. On the surface, it seems deceptively simple: after all, what is there to the “portrait” of nature? Yet, once we take a closer look at the history of landscape in Western painting from the early 1800s to the present day, the complexity and diversity of the genre manifests itself very clearly—landscape painting has been anything but a straightforward reflection of nature on the canvas. Forever Landscape will explore the fascinating and complex development of the genre, its centuries-long evolution from decorative, symbolic, quasi-religious and socially-charged, to the technique-oriented, lyrical, expressive and abstract. Far from being a quaint relic of the past, landscape painting is as prominent today as it has ever been—its currency and necessity underscored by looming environmental threats and nature-averse technological progress.
