The Grand Tour In The 18th Century

‘There are indeed some that go abroad merely to eat and sleep: and think if they have been at the places it is enough for: of this number are generally those that travel young with governors: who sometimes come home as knowing as they went out’

                                                                                        -  George Carpenter, 1717

The Grand Tour was a time of cultural enlightenment for young wealthy men who went travelling in the early eighteenth century. The Grand Tour mainly involved trips to the likes of the classical cities such as Paris and the main Italian cities such as Rome, Venice, Florence and Naples. Primarily the trips to Italy were to bring back Renaissance art and Italian paintings which at the time, were highly valued in Britain and were regarded as the best of their kind.

The British tourists at this time would often employ painters for a variety of reasons which are:

·        Portraits in elevating poses often in classical surroundings

·        Paintings of places they had seen

·        Reproductions of paintings that they liked

The image below is an example of a portrait in classical surroundings, this is similar to what we would call today ‘Holiday Snaps’, but they often lack the power and almost arrogant nature of these images.

'Colonel William Gordon of Fyvie' (1736-1816), Pompeo Batoni, 1766

Compared to a modern day holiday photo, there is no drama and no sense of arrogance, the paintings seek to evoke a passion inside us, as though they have been on a great and wonderful journey. Whereas modern photos, are more of a document sense, reminding us that we went there and that's about it.

 

Cyprus 2006

 

Notes from: 'The British Abroad: The Grand Tour In The Eighteenth Century', Jeremy Black
Qoute from the same book, sourced from (Bod. Mss. Douce, 67pp. 153-4)

Image 1 from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/yourpaintings/paintings/colonel-william-gordon-17361816-196521
Image 2 from personal collection

Walking in the Landscapes

‘Isn’t it really quite extraordinary to see that, since man took his first step, no-one has asked himself why he walks, how he walks, if he has ever walked, if he could walk better, what he achieves in walking... questions that are tied to all the philosophical, psychological, and political  systems which pre-occupy the world                                                                            - Honore De Balzac

Before the 18^th century, travel was difficult and the conditions of the roads were appalling and they were often plagued by highway men. As the 18^th century moved on, the state of the roads improved and the practice of walking became more acceptable.

William Wordsworth and many of his Romantic contemporaries utilised this new found freedom to begin walking for pleasure (people had walked before, often further and in worse conditions). Poets before them had begun to admire the landscapes and the wilder features in it such as the mountains, cliffs, storms and the sea, but Wordsworth and the Romantics who followed are said to have made walking in the landscapes into something new and different, the practice of walking for the sake of it and for the pleasures of being in the landscapes.

 

 

Notes from: ‘Wanderlust: A History of Walking’, Rebecca Solnit

(Quote from: Honore de Balzac, quoted in note 15 in Andrew J. Bennett, ‘Devious Feet: Wordsworth and the Scandal of Narrative Form’, ELH, Spring 1992 – found in ‘Wanderlust: A History of Walking)

Landscapes - Not just for escaping

Landscapes are not just for escaping, they can also be seen as a form of identity as well as inspiring and educating.

Landscapes are living, breathing areas which can reflect our own personalities or emotions. For example, the clouds are the landscapes thoughts, the body is the terrain itself and the rivers which often course through them are their lifeblood.

If we take the first one, Clouds are like human thoughts; it is easy to see why this is:

 

Study of Clouds (1821)

 

Study of Cumulus Clouds (1822)

John Constable’s work echoes that of the poet William Wordsworth’s poem, ‘Daffodils’. In particular the well known line; ‘I wandered as lonely as a cloud...’ The idea being that clouds are like the human mind, as our thoughts as well pass across, pause, reveal themselves and vanish. They can also show 'emotions', the first image of clouds are angry, hurried and frenzy. Whereas with the second image, the clouds are calmer and almost peaceful.

Landscapes are not just living, breathing areas; they are also beautiful, powerful, spiritual and full of mystery. In Wordsworth's poem ‘Ascent of Snowdon’, he talks about how the mountain is a holy place and by climbing it, you gaze down on the landscape as God might see it:

The perfect image of a mighty mind,

Of one that feeds upon infinity,

That is exalted by an under-prescence,

The sense of God, or whatsoe’er is dim,

Or vast in it’s own being....

David Cox’s image, ‘Mountain Heights, Cader Idris, c.1830’ is a perfect example of how poetry and paintings can be put together to create a romantic view of the landscape. The parting clouds over the mountains give the sense of mystery as they are not fully revealed as well as power as the sharp rocks protrude through them.

 

 

 

Notes, Quote and Images from: William Wordsworth and the Age of English Romanticism; Jonathan Wordsworth, Michael C.Jaye, and Robert Woof

Landscapes as Escapism

For this thesis, I will be talking about how landscapes are used as a form of escapism from the Industrial Revolution through to the Digital Revolution.

On any living day, we seek to escape in any way that we can. Ranging from the smallest hobbies, to more elaborate and often expensive holidays. But why? Well, we seek to flee from our often monotonous and mundane routines and rituals. In some instances, an escape into a landscape is often in search of a deeper meaning, often life itself as well as looking for one’s true identity (‘Soul-Searching’, often Gap Years are used to travel, a chance to explore new horizons). Put simply, viewing a different landscape is the polar opposite of our everyday lives.

 

Notes from - Escape Attempts: The Theory and Practice of Resistance to Everyday Life (Stanley Cohen and Laurie Taylor)

Land & Landscapes bordering on the Romantic

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

Landscapes and Why?

It's hard to explain as to why someone likes being in the landscape, more often than not, it stems from a sense of escapism. 

From drawing up a simple mind map of the subject, ‘Landscapes’, it is possible to see the various rationales as to why people feel the need/urge to be in them.

Landscapes

·       The ability to escape from modern day life

·       Natural beauty

·       A lack of people

·       Back to nature

·       Variety of landscapes

·       The scenery in the landscapes varies (weather and year dependent) 

If we take the first one, ‘The ability to escape from modern life’, we are then thrown another question.

 

‘Why do people feel the need to escape modern day life?’

This would lead onto various factors as to why:

·       Romanticised idea of landscapes

·       Something to aspire for (work towards)

·       Back to nature

·       A place of relaxation

·       Emotional connection to a landscape

The last one, ‘Emotional connection to a landscape’, is delving more into the realms of psychology. Looking at/being in/taking pictures of landscapes are all capable of giving us emotional connections to an area. In the case of taking pictures of landscapes, this can often be quite cathartic as it enables the photographer to use the landscape to more vividly express themselves in a way that they could probably not have done before with ease.

Contemporary Themes II

An Introduction to the module and 'Critical Discourse'

For this module, I have to choose one or two topics that were covered in the Contemporary Themes I module from last year which can also link in with the work that was covered in the Finding Your Place module. The clearest link between the modules that I can find is the use of ‘Landscapes/Trees’ in the images. The Finding Your Place work involved close-up images of tree barks whereas the work that was covered in Contemporary Themes I, one of the projects undertaken was a response to a John Blakemore lecture and the finished work utilised multiple and long exposures to capture movement in the trees.

This module also introduced us to the idea of ‘Critical Discourse’. From what I can gather of this term, it means that instead of just researching ‘Landscapes/ Landscape Photographers’, you should look around this subject and how it can be linked in with various social concepts. For example;

Landscapes ---- Nature ---- Modernity ---- The City

All of these social concepts can be linked in together (I think that’s right anyway!). As well as critically analysing this higher level of research, we should also look at how Critical Discourse can influence both our photographic approach and practice.