The difference between the terms ‘Land’ and ‘Landscapes’ is quite
distinctive. ‘Land’ as a whole is a natural phenomenon whereas ‘Landscapes’,
and what they are, is something which society and our culture have created. If
you think of it as the ‘Land’ is what you are seeing physically, whereas the ‘Landscape’
refers to a much wider view of the land and has come to be how we interpret the
land in an image.
During the seventeenth century in the Netherlands, there was something
of an economic boom (this time is often referred to as the ‘Golden’ century).
It was during this time that many great painters, Rembrandt Van Rijn, Johannes
Vermeer, Frans Hals et al, began painting images of the land around them which
would later become coined with the term ‘Landscape Paintings’ and in later
years ‘Landscape Photography’.
The Three Trees, 1643 (Rembrandt Van Rijn)
Due to the various techniques used, as well as devices within the image
such as the fisherman on the left hand side of the image, this somewhat
romantic and nostalgic view of the landscape was one of the driving forces
behind what would be known as the ‘Romanticism’ movement in Great Britain
during the 1800’s.
Image taken from: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/29.107.31
