The earliest of the Dutch landscape painters were Mabuse and his pupil Jan van Schoreel through whom Utrecht became a centre of art. They were followed by Abraham Bloemaert and Cornelis van Polenburgh, the latter of whom founded the style known as the Arcadian landscapes. Like that of other court.: tries the Dutch school was largely influenced by Italy where numerous Dutch painters studied and often remained. Among those settling in Italy but really belongin to Hol land were the brothers Andries and Jan Both. Jan Asselyn and Nicolas Beichem also lived and worked in Italy although of Dutch origin. Karel du Jardin, Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Michiel Carre were among the pupils of Berchem. Pieter Molyn, Esaias van de Velde and Jan van Goyen also became great names in the Dutch school where political changes and a Protestant religion were largely instrumental in forcing the painters into the field of landscape painting as affording a patronage lacking in other lines. Salomon Ruysdael and Allart van Everdingen were really the originators of the Dutch school of art which chose its own peculiar but very adaptable country for portrayal with lasting effects in the world of landscape painting. Hobbema follows with the Cuyps, Paul Potter, Adrian van de Velde, Phillips Wouwerman, Emanuel de Witte and Jacob Ruysdael, the latter of whom in some of his landscape compositions rivals and even surpasses Rembrandt. The Dutch school found its culmination in Rem brandt who raised to its highest art the pres entation of a simple stretch of landscape, al though Rembrandt showed his originality in landscape painting later than in other work. The Dutch school was decadent after Rem brandt.
The Spanish school of art rose with the decline of Spain's greatness among the nations.
Zuzbaram is the first among Spain's landscape painters, followed by Velasquez and his con temporary, Francisco Collantes, and then Murillo.
The 18th century saw the development of landscape painting in England with Richard Wilson, a Welshman, as its first great ex ponent. Gainsborough's work foreshadowed greater developments although with him the landscape is subsidiary to the portrait. Thomas Barker, known as °Barker of Bath" was among the early landscape painters of England, and John Crome, °Old Crome," was one of the founders of the school of English landscape. Constable, while influenced by the Dutch, was sound in principle and was the originator of innovations in light effects, furnishing inspira tion later to the Barbizon school and so in fluencing much of the later art of Scotland and Holland. J. M. W. Turner possessed a range in the field of nature perhaps wider than any of the landscape artists, and while perhaps some of his work may be criticized for effects which were the outgrowth of a peculiar tem perament he left a mass of exceptional crea tions covering an extraordinary variety of sub jects, many of them among the finest extant.
In the more modern French school, Wat teau, Oudry, Boucher, the three generations of the Vernet family, Hubert, Robert and Honore Fragonard produced a type of decorative landscapes not hitherto attempted, and this romantic group was succeeded by the Barbizon school upon which the sound principles of Con stable had so material an influence. In this
later group the effects of nature were combined with a poetic idealism. The list of later French painters is lengthy and distinguished, including Georges Michel, Louis David, D. Ingres, Delacroix, Richard Parkes Bonning ton, Paul Huet, Alexandre Decamps, Camille Flers and Corot; as well as Eugene Isabey, Rousseau, Charles Jacque, Millet, Diaz, Jules Dupre, Louis Cabat, Prosper Marilhat and Francois Couchet.
French influence has been of powerful effect in recent landscape painting, originating the Barbizon and the Impressionist methods. The Glasgow school and the Cornish school of Newlyn, in Great Britain, have also exercised wide influence.
In America landscape painting has come under a considerable amount of criticism as being of European origin and coming under European influence. Considering, civilization, the European origin of American civilization, and the interchange of ideas and influences to be traced among the exponents of the art of landscape painting in Europe the criticism be comes captious rather than otherwise. It was not until the 19th century that landscape paint ing gained any real foothold in America al though the landscape background for portraits was occasionally employed. The Hudson River school of landscape painting was the earliest effort in this direction, the pioneer being Thomas Doughty. Others were Thomas Cole, Asher B. Durand, J. F. Kensett, William and James MacDougal Hart. These and others specialized on scenery of the romantic character of the Hudson and its environs and brought much criticism through their too great atten tion to detail and the panoramic character of their canvases. Of a later group F. E. Church painted subjects ranging from Labrador to South America, and Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt felt the lure of the Rockies. Suc ceeding this earlier group came George Inness, Alexander H. Wyant, Homer Martin and Henry W. Ranger whose art is of unexcep tional quality even though admittedly some what under the influence of the French school. Later are Ralph S. Blakelock, Albert P. Ryder, Horatio Waller, Winslow Homer, Paul Dougherty, Allan B. Talcott, Alexander Har • rison, F. W. Benson, J. Alden Wier, W. L. Lathrop, Colin Campbell Cooper, Willard L. Metcalf, Albert L. Groll,. Leonard Ochtman, Dwight W. Tryon, Frederick Ballard Williams and others who are doing earnest work Of those influenced by the Impressionist school, Childe Hassam and John W. Twachtman are notable as producing work of strength and originality. Winslow Homer, while a marine rather than strictly a landscape painter, is con sidered typically original in his work; and while Whistler, Sargent and Alexander use landscape effects only in subordination to their portraits the character and distinctiveness of their work is unquestioned.
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