Although it has existed in various forms throughout history, the landscape oil painting technique gained prominence with the rise of Romanticism in the 18th century. In this era, landscape paintings had religious influence, as they represented God's creation in its most perfect form. Since the landscape oil painting technique allowed artists to express their perception of nature through highly detailed representations, most landscape paintings of the era were highly elaborate in terms of details.

During the 19th century, the rise of impressionist and abstract art styles influenced landscape paintings. For impressionist art, Monet was among the era's most prominent artists, while van Gogh and Cézanne became known for their post-impressionist landscape paintings. As we approach our day in the timeline, various depictions of urban sceneries and the use of pop art elements in landscape oil painting got even more popularised.

What is the Landscape Oil Painting Technique

Decorating your rooms with a striking portrait of a beach or an abstract representation of sublime scenery isn't unusual. In fact, landscapes might be the best choice for a living room painting. Landscape oil paintings are depictions of natural beauty.
Most landscape paintings don't contain humans or other living creatures. In this sense, the technique can be likened to still-life paintings, as they also capture an everyday scene in its most natural form. However, landscape paintings with humans or animals present are definitely not rare. In fact, such pieces have a significant role for historians due to their depiction of everyday life of yore.

Types of Landscape Oil Painting

If you're planning to beautify your home with a fascinating landscape oil painting, you should know a few things about different types of landscape oil painting. This way, you'll be able to see which landscape painting form is the best for them and how to search for landscape oil painting for sale.

Impressionistic Landscape Paintings

Although the modern concept of impressionistic landscape oil paintings has its roots in the earlier impressionist art that became popular around the 1860s, it has evolved through centuries with influence from other techniques and artistic currents.
Today, "impressionistic painting" often conjures euphoric natural landscapes, lush gardens and idyllic greens. One of the earliest pioneers of the form was Claude Monet, who produced various landscape paintings, including street landscapes.

Representational Landscape Paintings

As the name implies, representational landscape paintings have a more realistic approach to landscape, aiming to capture the essence of its beauty. While artists may take stylistic liberties with their perception of nature, the art depicts a realistic world.
It is also worth noting that representational landscape oil painting isn't necessarily photorealistic. Representational artworks can be slightly different from the artist's surroundings while maintaining the traditional aspects of representational style.

Abstract Landscape Paintings

Abstract landscape paintings are starkly different from representational and impressionist styles. As a modern artistic style, abstract paintings give artists the freedom to express themselves without boundaries.
Abstract artists focus on the defining details of a landscape rather than portraying the scenery as it is. They can alter and reshape natural elements to express their perception free of material borders. Cubism, line art, colour blocking, halftones or pop art effects can show up in abstract landscape oil paintings as an expression of the artist's creativity.

Popular and Historical Landscape Oil Painting Artists

Nicolas Poussin, The Death of Sapphira, 1652

Nicolas Poussin was one of the earliest artists who created original landscape oil paintings with some influence from classical themes. Most of his paintings contained religious and mythological themes, which are present in The Death of Sapphira.
The portrait depicts the story of Sapphira and her husband, Ananias, who sold a plot of land yet secretly withheld a portion of the proceeds. Nevertheless, the couple are struck down by God due to their deception.

Vincent van Gogh, Café Terrace at Night, 1888

Vincent van Gogh is one of the most famous artists of post-Impressionist art. Besides still life pieces and several auto portraits, van Gogh created many original landscape oil paintings. Café Terrace at Night is, however, one of his most iconic works due to the exceptional use of tones and colours.

Paul Cézanne, Trees and Houses Near the Jas de Bouffan, 1885–1886

The creator of many fascinating mountain landscape oil paintings, Paul Cézanne was one of the most influential artists of his time. The artist was born in Aix-En-Provence in the Provence region of southern France and, besides a few years in Paris, spent his life there. In most of his original landscape oil paintings, including Trees and Houses Near the Jas de Bouffan, Cézanne portrays Provence's mountains, lakes, fields and coastline in his creative way.

FAQ

How to Clean Landscape Oil Painting?

There are various ways to clean landscape oil paintings. Our recommendations are:

Remove dirt with a soft brush: Use a soft brush to remove the surface dirt from the canvas. Don't press too much on the canvas; swipe the brush throughout the surface instead.
Use saliva to clean: Grab a cotton swab and damp the tip with your own saliva. Dab the swab over the painting in small sections, preferably cleaning one square inch per swab.
Avoid using water, alcohol, bread or potatoes: Some people may recommend them, but it's never a good idea as using them might damage the canvas.
Work with a professional conservator: Don't you know what you're doing? Then bring your painting to a professional to remove the varnish and take good care of the artwork.

How to Frame a Landscape Oil Painting?

First of all, you should decide what type of canvas to use. An elaborate and aesthetically appealing canvas might be the best choice for landscape oil paintings. However, you can use a float and baguette type for more modern and minimalist ones.

How to Protect Landscape Oil Painting?

Here are a few key points to protect landscape oil painting in the best way possible:

Always choose the right canvas for your painting,
Hang the painting in an area where it doesn't get direct sunlight,
Clean the painting with a brush regularly,
Use archival matting to preserve it,
Avoid putting your painting near heating sources.

What to Consider When Buying?

Although there are various aspects of buying the right artwork, from pricing to theme, one thing you should always consider is quality. Always go for the highest quality artwork for your budget. Thankfully, at Simurg, we aim to provide you with that.